Clockwork
by WarnedBeYou
Summary: We fit, like two puzzle pieces, like clockwork. And yet, time was against us, everything was against us. I never wanted that moment to end, but now, I wish I had walked away, just left, and never looked back.
1. Chapter 1: A Change

**Ok, well, here it is, my first story. I know that it may seem a bit slow, but bear with me. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 1: A Change<p>

Hermione Granger was not one who accepted change. A change in a routine meant chaos for her, though she never let it get out of hand and was always prepared. She always had something up her sleeve and was rarely caught unawares. But this was different. Something had changed. The unthinkable, the unfathomable, had happened, and for the first time in her life, she just went with it, put all of her worries aside, ignored her reason that was yelling at her to stop, and listened to her heart.

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**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

Chapter 2: The Beginning

The library had always been her spot, her room to be alone, her private area. But now, here she was, sharing it with Draco Malfoy. she scowled as he sat down opposite her. He did not look happy either, he had dark circles under his eyes, and was it Hermione's imagination, or had he become thinner?

"Right, let's get this over with" he drawled. Their Ancient Runes professor had had the brilliant idea of making the class work in pairs for a big project. To her horror, her partner was to be Draco Malfoy. It wan't as if she didn't have enough on her plate - what with Harry and that stupid Prince book and now Ron was off snogging Lavender whenever he could. The worst thing about this project is that it would last for the rest of the year, so she now had to spend every hour she had to herself, every free period and all evenings on week days - except when there was Quidditch Practice - here, with Draco Malfoy. Oh, the joy.

"I cannot believe he would do this! I mean, pair me up with Malfoy!" she ranted on and on to Harry who looked quite scared. She finally sat down on the armchair by the fire and sighed. "I just can't take it, Harry. Not now." She whispered, letting a few tears fall. It was late at night and they were the only two left in the common room. Harry got up and sat on the arm of her chair, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You are the strongest person I know. You can get through this. Besides, I'm still here, aren't I? Don't worry about it." She looked up at him, dried her eyes and smiled.

"You're right, Harry, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's alright." He smiled back before returning to his Divination homework. "So, what are you doing for Christmas? It's two weeks away."

"I don't know. I was thinking of staying here. Originally, I was going to go to the Weasley's but I don't feel like that now…" She trailed off, fighting back a new wave of tears that were threatening to spill. It was painful, seeing Ron kiss Lavender like that. Painful to see him love another girl when she was standing right in front of him the whole time. How could he not know how she felt?

"Hermione? Hermione?" She was dragged from her daydream again by Harry.

"Sorry. I was somewhere else. I think I'll go to bed. Goodnight, Harry." He nodded.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

She had hoped that everyone would be asleep, but Lavender and Parvati were in deep discussion about something. She had an inkling as to who they might be talking about, so she retreated to the bathroom. When she reentered the dormitory, they were still talking, so she decided to ignore them as much as she could. Unfortunately, the curtains surrounding my four poster bed was not sound proof, so she could hear their conversation perfectly. Every word acted like a knife.

"...and then, he held my hand, looked me in the eyes and said that he was the happiest man in the world." Lavender squealed with excitement once she had finished telling her story. Parvati joined in.

"Oh, you are so lucky, Ron sounds like such a romantic. You are really, really lucky."

"Oh, I know Parvati. I can feel it, we were meant to be together. I just hope _she_ doesn't get in the way."

"They haven't spoken in weeks, she is nothing to him. Don't you worry." They giggled some more. Hermione turned over and put the pillow over her head, trying to block out the sound of their conversation, fighting back tears. One of the other girls told them to shut up, so Hermione was left in the dark and in the silence, nursing her broken heart.


	3. Chapter 3: Ancient Runes

Chapter 3: Ancient Runes

"No, not like that! The rune isn't shaped like that, it's this one here, it means time, not life." She was getting fustrated. Malfoy wasn't trying hard enough.

"Shut it, Mudblood. I think I know better than you." He snarled.

"Oh yes? Then how come I have higher marks than you in _every single subject!_" She snarled back. They glared at each other, before returning to work. Working with Malfoy was proving very difficult indeed.

"I need a break."

"No." She said firmly. "We have fifteen minutes left before dinner. That is our agreement. We work until dinner every evening. No breaks." He glared at her, but stayed seated nonetheless. As Hermione was looking for a particular rune, he started doodling on a piece of parchment. She chose to ignore it, but when she looked again, he had drawn Hermione with very, very big teeth, extremely bushy hair and a giant brain. She couldn't help it; she started to laugh. He jerked his head up at the sound and looked confused as she tried so hard to contain her laughter.

"What? What's so funny?"

"That caricature of me. It's so well done." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Even though I know you mean it in a cruel way, I find it very amusing." He was still staring at her, obviously completely at a loss as to why she had started laughing. But his lips then turned up at the edges and he smiled. Draco Malfoy actually smiled a genuine smile. Granted, it was small, but it was a smile, nonetheless. She looked at the clock in the library.

"Time's up." He looked up, then nodded in agreement, all traces of his smile gone, and packed his things. He then nodded in her direction and left the library, leaving her sitting at the table, wondering if everything that had just transpired was nothing more than her frivolous imagination.

"Hey, Hermione, how was the library with Mr Dreamboat?" teased Ginny.

"Who's Mister Dreamboat?" Asked Harry, a very confused expression on his face.

"She means Malfoy" Hermione told Harry who then raised his eyebrows at the two girls, "It's a joke. Well, to answer your question, Ginny, it was actually alright." She started to put some food on her plate.

"Oh, well, nothing special?" Ginny asked, obviously confused as to why she wasn't rampaging on and on about how Malfoy was being a git.

"Well, I found out he can draw caricatures. He did one of me after we squabbled about the significance of a rune and it was really well done." Harry stared at her, and Ginny's fork hovered over her plate. "What?" Hermione asked, perplexed at their reaction.

"Nothing, just. Nothing." Ginny said and the downward tone implied that the subject was dropped and that asking questions would get her nowhere. This aggravated Hermione to no ends as not being able to ask questions was really hard for her. She moodily plunged her fork into the mash potato and ate silently. After about 10 minutes, Ron showed up, followed hotly by his beloved Lavender Brown and so Hermione made a hasty retreat, mumbling something about an essay she hadn't finished. She still hated seeing them together, each time tore her heart apart, created a new scar. She made my way to the common room and started on the essay that Professor Slughorn had assigned that very morning.

Once finished, she picked up all of her loose pieces of parchment to put them in her bag, but a small scrap came loose and floated to the ground. She frowned and picked it up. It was the drawing Malfoy had done earlier. She chuckled as she looked at it. She turned it over, half expecting a note, but there was nothing there. She smiled once more, remembering the look on his face when she had laughed. Hermione put all the papers away and went up the stairs to bed.

She didn't even hear Lavender and Parvati discuss Lavender's most recent date with Ron as she fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. It was the best sleep she'd had in weeks, and for once, there were no dreams.


	4. Chapter 4: And The Clock Struck Twelve

**Hey, I know it's been a while, but here's the new chapter, please don't hesitate to tell me what you think! Thx**

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><p>Chapter 4: And The Clock Struck Twelve<p>

Draco Malfoy wasn't quite sure why he had done that. Just as he was gathering up his things, he had slipped the drawing in amongst her papers. She had laughed. Draco missed laughter. Ever since he had been branded a Death Eater and assigned this mission, having fun and laughing were very rare, and lately, there had been none, so to see someone laugh was good for him. It made him forget his mission, forget the stress, the worry, the consequences if he were to fail; in short, it made him feel normal again. The Slytheryn common room - which was where he was now - was full of laughter, but he always felt apart from it. It was all around him, and yet he could not join in. He used to be right in the middle of it, always the center of attention, Draco Malfoy, arrogant, sautering around like Hogwarts was his own. Now, he sat in an armchair in a corner, looking around. His fellow Housemates were all joking, their futures theirs to make, his was set out for him.

Unable to take it anymore, he got up and went to the Room of Requirement. No one followed him. This was normal behaviour for him now, just randomly getting up and leaving the common room. He was fed up with that room, with its seaweed-green light from the lake, the constant insults being thrown back and forth. He had other things to worry about.

Once inside the room, he went straight to the cabinet he had been working on for a few months now. Still, it sat there, broken, mocking him. He snarled at it. Why wouldn't it work? He calmed himself and started his project.

Hours later, he was sitting against the wall of the Room of Requirement, his head in his hands. He was failing and he knew it. The stunt he had pulled with the necklace was reckless and Dumbledore would surely get suspicious if he kept doing stunts like that. Why had his father forced him? He knew why; because he had failed. This was the punishment, his father had to watch as he, Draco, struggled to fulfill the task he had been given. He knew that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named expected him to fail, but Draco was determined to prove him wrong, he would succeed, nothing would get in the way of him killing Dumbledore.

"I can do this. I can do this!" He told himself. He knew it was a lie; he couldn't do it. He was not a killer. He never will be. It was then that he started to cry, hatred for his father, for his 'fellow' Death Eaters, for the Dark Lord, and most of all, the envy he felt, he was jealous of every one outside of this room, all of his classmates. They were not set out on a path they knew they would not survive, they were not tortured into killing someone. He hated hiding out here, like a mouse in a hole. He was trapped. He could not go anyway, he could not turn back. He thought of Hermione Granger, that mudblood. How was it that her life was so much better than his? How can she have the best grades in the year, better than him? She was below him! Her life should be that of serving Purebloods. And yet, he was the one who was curled up on the floor with no real friends, with a family who, instead of protecting him, had handed him over to the danger, to death. He got to his feet and wiped his tears away ferociously. No! He would not have it.

After what seemed like years, Draco decided that he had been in the room long enough. He opened the door slowly. There was no one in sight. He slipped out, closing the door behind him, and his eyes met someone else's. It was Granger.

"What-"

"You?"

"How?"

"What are you doing here?" whispered Draco.

"I - I could ask you the same question." Hermione replied. They glared at each other, Draco still halfway through the door to the Room. Suddenly, Mrs Norris appeared around the corner, staring at them. The two teenagers stared at the cat before realising the danger.

"Quick!" And Draco dragged the girl by the arm, looking round to see, to his relief, that the Room of Requirement had reappeared behind him, and dragged Granger in with him. Once through, he shut the door firmly, and looked round. They were standing in a small room, not unlike a common room, with a fire, what looked like a grand piano and a brown sofa. They stood there for a second or two, listening intently, but they heard nothing. The room was utterly silent, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.

"Uh, Malfoy, you can let go of my arm now." He looked down and saw that he was, indeed, still holding onto her arm. He let go.

"Just be glad I save you, Granger, or would you have prefered being caught and being in detention?" He sneered. She looked at him.

"Thank you." She said finally. She then turned her attention to the piano, looking at it with an air of curiosity, and walked slowly towards it. She sat on the stool and ran her fingers along the keys.

"Do you play?" Draco asked.

"A bit. I used to, I haven't in a while." She looked longingly at the black and white keys. Draco walked towards her.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing towards the instrument. Hermione nodded and stood up. Draco took her place and stared at the keys. Slowly, he placed his fingers on the piano and started playing a piece that he had learned recently. It was a soft tune, a melancholic one, heartbreaking. It was one of his mother's favorite. As he played, Hermione looked on in awe, as Draco's fingers glided effortlessly over the keys. He stopped abruptly and stood up, startling the girl.

"Are you alright?" she asked timidly. Draco stared at the instrument. What was he doing? He was playing piano in front of a _mudblood_! A clock struck twelve somewhere in the grounds, the chimes echoing around them, so quiet, but still pressing against their eardrums.

"I should go." He growled, anger pulsing through his veins, he didn't know why.

"Where will you go? It's midnight, way past our curfew, Filch knows we're out of bed and somewhere around here, don't you think you're more likely to be caught?" He glared at her, but could not fight with her logic. He knew they were more likely to be caught than anything else. He turned his eyes towards the fire and stared into the flames. He then heard a few plonks from the piano and turned to find Hermione sitting in front of the instrument, playing a soft tune. She was concentrating hard, hitting quite a few wrong notes, her brow creasing. Draco walked slowly towards her. She noticed the movement and looked up.

"Sorry, I can't play that well, school takes up a lot of my time now, I just can't find the time to play." She looked apologetic. Draco grabbed another stool that the room had provided and sat down next to her.

"Do you want to learn?" He asked. She smiled hesitantly back at him and nodded. "It may take a while."

"I have all night." He smiled back, before turning towards the keyboard. "Now, this is a simple melody, it's one of the first I learned."

He didn't know what it was, but sitting there by the piano with Hermione Granger, Draco felt, for the first time in months, that there was still some hope, some light in the dark. For the first time in a long time, he was enjoying himself.


	5. Chapter 5: When Morning Came

**Hello, this is a big chapter, same as the one before. Don't forget to tell me what you think! Thx**

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><p>Chapter 5: When Morning Came<p>

Hermione awoke the next morning on an unknown sofa. Looking around, she saw an unknown room. She sat up quickly, startled, looking around, her eyes fell upon a grand piano. Then she remembered the events of last night. She was Draco lying on a second sofa, covered in a blanket. She looked at the clock on the mantlepiece and saw that it was half six, her usual wake-up time. She got up and sneaked out of the room.

She didn't meet anyone on her way back to the common room, and was relieved when, finally, she reached the portrait. She quietly walked into the empty common room and up the empty staircase and entered her bedroom. She quickly got ready, and went back down the staircase, intending to meet up with Harry to go down to breakfast.

"Not so fast, Miss Granger." Ginny was standing at the foot of the stairs, eyeing Hermione suspiciously. "Where were you last night?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione put on her best innocent face, but she knew Ginny wasn't buying it.

"I didn't see you come back last night."

"Yeah, well, I was in the library."

"The library closes at 9, Hermione."

"I went for a walk."

"Hermione, I was in the common room from about 7 to midnight, I didn't see you."

"What are you, my babysitter?" Hermione pushed past Ginny.

"No, I'm just looking out for you-" this was too far. Hermione stopped in her tracks.

"Looking out for me?" Ginny knew that she had hit a very touchy subject.

"That's not what I meant, Hermione, I-"

"I do not need a nanny, I don't need someone to look after me! I am of age, I can look after myself." And with that she stormed off, past the onlookers. She stalked all the way down the marble staircase.

"Hermione! Hey! Hermione!" It was Harry. Hermione stopped to let him catch up with her. She was still angry at what Ginny had said, and was not overjoyed when Harry brought it back up.

"Hermione, all that Ginny meant was-"

"I know what she meant, Harry, but it makes me feel like some poor person who can't fend for themselves. I may not be in the best mental condition what with being in what seems like a never-ending argument with Ron, and with you about that stupid book, and now I have to deal with Malfoy every evening because of the assignment. But it doesn't mean that you all have to look after me, I'm fine."

"We know, we know, you're strong, one of the strongest people I know. It's just, we're a bit worried about you because we care about you, that's all." Hermione nodded. "Now, how about some breakfast?"

As they walked down the marble staircase, Harry filled Hermione in on the latest Quidditch practice that Harry had had with Ron to try and boost his courage just the night before.

"It was a nightmare, honestly, I felt like he wasn't listening, didn't help that Lavender was in the crowd." He glanced at Hermione who pointedly stared straight ahead.

"So, do you think your'e ready for the next match?" she asked casually.

"I'd love to say yes, but I honestly don't know."

They'd reached the Great Hall at that point. It was still relatively empty, a lot of students were still in their dormitories. Hermione and Harry went to sit at the Gryffindor table, and began their breakfast. The fact that it was Friday had put Harry in a very good mood. He was happily chomping on his breakfast, while reading, to Hermione's annoyance, the Half-Blood Prince's book. Once done, they quickly fetched their books and their bags and headed for their first lesson, which happened to be Potions with the Slytherins. Once down in the dungeons, Hermione's heart was clenched by an iron fist as she watched in horror as Lavender Brown and Ron were standing with their hands held tight. She pretended like she hadn't noticed and entered the classroom. Little did she know that someone had noticed the faint flicker of hurt that had passed in her eyes. It wasn't Ron, or Lavender, or Harry, or any other Gryffindor, but Draco Malfoy.

Draco had woken up to an empty room just a few minutes previously. He had had to skip breakfast in order to be ready in time for class. He couldn't explain the events of the night before. He didn't know why, but they had acted as if they were friends, not mortal enemies. She had accepted his silent offer of friendship. But now what? Did they just return to being enemies, insulting each other every chance they got? No. He didn't want to go back there. So much was going on in his life, he couldn't trust anyone, not even his own family, but Hermione Granger had been there for him.

When he had awoken that morning, he had realised that he did not know the reason that Hermione had been out late that night. He had never asked, because she hadn't asked what he was doing in the Room just seconds before they had bumped into each other.

As he sat down at his desk in the dungeon, he thought back to that flicker of pain he had seen in her eyes. Why had she felt pain? Was it because of Weasley and his new girlfriend? Or had it been something else? Curiosity was pushing him to ask, but he couldn't just walk up to her and ask her. Could he? No. He decided against that idea, but another one came.

A few minutes later, Hermione, Harry and Ron, who Hermione was determined not to look at, were all concentrating very hard on their potions. Hermione was determined to beat Harry this time. Just as she looked down at her notes, someone brushed past her desk and knocked all the papers off.

"Hey!" she snapped at the passer by. Draco Malfoy looked round, looked down at the papers he had pushed off of her desk, and smirked.

"Oops." He said with a smirk, and walked off. Fuming, she bent down and quickly put everything back on her desk. She knew it was still Malfoy, but she had hoped that after the night before he would have left her alone. But no, he was still the same arrogant git that he always was. Sighing, she turned back to her potion.

Draco didn't know why he had done that. He had wanted to talk to her, but hadn't been able to bring himself to. He had got her attention at least. It was enough for now. Besides, he would see her later, when they had to meet up in the library to work on their Ancient Runes project. He brought his attention back to his potion. He would ask her then.


	6. Chapter 6: Apologising

Chapter 6: Apologising

Hermione was already waiting in the library when Draco walked in.

"You're late." She spat.

"Yeah, well, I was held back after Transfiguration." He scowled. "So, where were we?"

Ten minutes passed while they worked on their project. Finally, his curiosity getting the better of him, he blurted out

"What were you doing out after curfew last night?"

"I don't think it's any of your business." She replied curtly. "Besides, I could ask you the same thing." She looked at him but he avoided her gaze.

"This and that. But I asked first. Did it have anything to do with Weasel-Bee and his girlfriend? Because that seemed to upset you this morning." She had stopped writing now and was staring at the paper in front of her.

"I - I don't -"

"Don't pretend, Granger. I saw that look you gave them before potions. It kills you to see them together, doesn't it? You like the weasel, don't you?" Hermione was glaring at him now, and he was taken aback to see that she was crying. Tears were falling from her eyes that were full of hatred and anger.

"It is none of your business who I like and who I don't like, Malfoy, so I suggest you keep your big nose out of other people's business." Her voice was barely audible, but cut like ice. She stood up abruptly. "We're done here." And she left, leaving half of her things behind. Malfoy stared after her retreating figure, completely confused. He hadn't expected her to react like that. Looking at the papers in front of him, he saw that tears had found their way onto the books and pieces of parchment. He considered just leaving her things on the desk, but something made him pick it all up and head towards the Great Hall. It would be dinner in about half an hour, he would give it back to her then.

But she was not there. His eyes scanned the Gryffindor table as he entered, but he did not see the bushy haired girl anywhere. Sighing, he walked towards Potter and Weasel-Bee who was currently sucking the life out of his girlfriend.

"Oi, Potter." He looked up, confused.

"Malfoy?"

"Granger left her stuff in the library, I thought she might like it back." There was a horrible sucking noise as the Weasley's lips departed from that of Lavender Brown's.

"Euh.. Ok." Said Harry, uncertainly.

"Since when do you ever do anything nice, Malfoy?"

"Since Granger and I are Ancient Runes partners, that's when. I don't really want these papers to get lost, so just take them."

"It's not like Hermione to leave her work behind, what did you do Malfoy?" Weasley asked suspiciously.

"As if you care, Weasley, I only asked what she was doing out after curfew last night before I bumped into her. She's the one that burst into tears and ran off." With that, he dropped the papers into the seat next to Harry and walked away.

"What were you doing, talking to Potter?" Asked Pansy Parkinson almost as soon as Draco sat down.

"Giving Granger's papers back, she forgot them in the library." He replied simply.

"Why didn't you just leave them there?" she asked perplexed.

"Because she's my Ancient Runes partner and if those papers got lost, we'd both pay." He snapped back. "Have you finished interrogating me?" She sulked and got back to eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes, sometimes passing a few comments about homework. Once finished, Draco walked towards Crabbe and Goyle.

"I need to go back up to the seventh floor,-"

"We can't, Malfoy, we got detention with McGonagal" Crabbe cut in.

"Again? Honestly, how many more nights do you have left?" Malfoy said angrily.

"We think this is the last one, as long as we finish cleaning all the desks and she says it's done." Malfoy scowled.

"Fine, I'll have to do without you. Again." Malfoy snapped, and walked away swiftly. He glanced back at the Gryffindor table, but still, Granger was nowhere in sight. Frowning slightly, Draco walked all the way up the marble staircase to the seventh floor and passed in front of the tapestry of the trolls 3 times, trying to concentrate on what he needed.

_I need the place where everything's hidden._

Once inside the room, he once more directed himself towards the cabinet and set to work. But he wasn't concentrating. Soemthing was plaguing him at the back of his mind. Granger. He hated to admit it, but he had never meant to cause her that much pain. What was this feeling? And finally he understood: it was regret. He regretted teasing her about the weasel. He had never really experienced love, and so had no idea what Granger was going through. Who was he to make fun of her for feeling like she did? He slammed his fist against the side of the cabinet. He couldn't work like this, with his mind running circles around Granger. He wouldn't have any peace until he put things right.

Meanwhile, Hermione was lying on her four poster bed, wiping the last tears off of her cheeks. How dare he! How dare he tease her like he did! She didn't need his insults to feel bad. Just looking at Ron and Lavender made her heart break, made her eyes threaten to tear up. There was a faint knocking on the window. She ignored it for a bit, thinking it was just an insect, but it only grew more persistent. Grumbling under her breath, she got up and went to the window. Once opened, a large eagle-owl swooped in and dropped a letter on her pillow. It immediately swooped back out. Confused, she closed the window after the bird and picked up the letter. Her name was written on the front in a handwriting that looked familiar, though she could not pinpoint it. It was not Harry's, and it most certainly was not Ron's. Perplexed, she opened the letter. Inside, three words were written in the same neat writing:

_I'm sorry._


	7. Chapter 7: Serendipity

Chapter 7: Serendipity

It was now the last day before Christmas break and Hermione still hadn't found out who had sent her the note. She was delighted that, after that evening, she wouldn't have to deal with Draco Malfoy for two whole weeks. She was staying at Hogwarts for the holiday, seeing as her original plans to visit the Weasleys was now off as she still hadn't spoken to Ron and she didn't want to explain to her parents why. She hadn't asked Malfoy about his plans for the holiday, but then again, they hadn't spoken about anything besides Runes since he had teased her about Ron. She sighed, and made her way to the library where Malfoy was already waiting for her.

"You're late." He said simply, not looking up from the pieces of parchment he was laying out in front of him on the table.

"I am not, I am, in fact, two minutes early." She pointed to the clock in the library. He shrugged.

"Well, are you going to join me, or stand there pointing at a clock?" Hermione sat down.

"Right, now, we got up to-" She stopped. She was staring at a piece of parchment on the table. She picked it up, under the very confused gaze of Malfoy. "Did you write this, Malfoy?"

"Yes, why?" He had completely about the note he had sent her almost 3 weeks previously.

"It was you." She whispered.

"What was me?"

"You sent that note." Silence rained down around them, only the ticking of the clock was heard.

"What note?" He asked, but the silence he had left had betrayed him. Hermione reached into her bag and took out the very note, placing it on the table next to the parchment. _Yes,_ she thought, _it was him._

"Alright, alright, I sent it. So what?" He tried to sound as if he didn't care, but his eyes were staring daggers at the note.

"Why did you apologise?" She asked, her eyes full of curiosity. "I'm trying to understand, I'm not going to use this against you in any way." Her eyes were trying to read him, to figure out why he, Malfoy, had apologised to her, the mudblood Granger.

"I- When I didn't see you at dinner after I'd, uh, mocked you about the Weasle, I felt bad. Yes," he snapped, "the great Draco Malfoy regretted teasing you. Sue me!" Hermione remained silent and looked back at the note, then back at Malfoy. She looked into his steel grey eyes, trying to see past the disguise.

"Thank you." She whispered. Draco looked back into her brown eyes and saw that she meant it. He nodded. "Serendipity." She said, standing up. Draco looked at her confused.

"Seren- What?"

"Serendipity. Look it up." And with that, Hermione packed up her things and left.

"But, we haven't even started!" He spluttered.

"Don't worry, I'll work on it during the holidays." She smiled back at him. She began to walk away from a very confused Malfoy, before turning back. "Oh, and I never thanked you for returning my things. Thank you, Draco."

"You're welcome, Hermione." She smiled at him and walked off. He stared at her retreating figure, shaking his head. That little witch could still surprise him. He glanced back at the table. He could also work on it during the holidays. Besides, he was staying here, it would give him a break from the Room of Requirement.

Hermione was walking towards the portrait hole when Ginny emerged.

"Ah, there you are Gin" Hermione smiled. "I was just about to go looking for you."

"Uhm, why, may I ask?" She asked.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to help me get ready for Slughorn's party this evening. I want to look my best." Ginny beamed.

"Oh I would love to! Yes!" And she hugged Hermione tightly.

"But first, let's go get some dinner." Ginny nodded in agreement.

"By the way, are you alright, I heard about what Ron did in Transfiguration earlier..." she trailed off.

"I'm alright, thanks Ginny. I just wish Ron didn't act like that, he just does it because his precious Lav Lav is around." She couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice. Ginny patted her on the back.

"He's a boy, he's a moron. Now, how about some dinner?"

"Did you see the look on his face when he heard who I was going to the party with?" Hermione laughed with Ginny while going back to the common room.

"I know, it was priceless!"

Draco Malfoy watched the two girls giggle their way up the stairs. Granger was laughing, relishing in making her secret crush jealous. Malfoy smiled up at the girl. She was cunning, he was impressed. He then went towards his own dormitory. He wasn't invited to the party, but that meant that all the attention would be in the dungeons and so he had less chance of being caught if he went up to work on the vanishing cabinet.

As Hermione walked down towards the dungeons arm in arm with Cormac McLagan, she was starting to regret agreeing to go with him. The whole way down from Gryffindor Tower, he had talked about Quidditch, all the saves he had done, and how he should be on the Gryffindor team instead of Ron, because he was "better looking and a better goal-keeper", and the tryouts just weren't "on my good day". They had just reached the party and Hermione was just wishing the party would end soon, she didn't know how much more she could take of it.

After escaping McLagan's attempts from under the mistletoe, she bumped into Harry.

"Harry! Hi, I was looking for you!"

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, looking at her in concern.

"Uh, yes, I, uh."

"You regret taking McLagan, don't you." It was more of a statement than a fact.

"Well, I thought it would be better then Micheal, but he's like an octopus! I've left him under the mistletoe. Besides, I thought it would make Ron jealous more…" She stopped, and Harry understood the longing behind her voice. He looked over at where Ginny was dancing. Hermione noticed.

"I know, Hermione, don't worry, I'll keep it between us." Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"Oh, God, here he comes," and with that, disappeared once more into the crowd. Deciding to call it a night, she bid farewell to Slughorn and walked out of the dungeons, hoping that her date hadn't seen her leave. To her surprise, as she was walking towards the end of the corridor, she saw Malfoy being dragged towards the party. She had only taken a few more steps, when he and Snape emerged from Slughorn's office. Without thinking, she ran into an empty classroom, waiting for them to pass, but to her horror, the doorknob turned. Panicking now, Hermione ran and hid in the closet located on the other side of the room.


	8. Chapter 8: False Alarm

Chapter 8: False Alarm

It was just Ginny and her boyfriend. Hermione relaxed and, as quietly as she could, sneaked out of the storage cupboard - the couple was too busy to notice her - and quietly exited the classroom. Once outside, she wondered where she could go; she didn't want to go to the common room just yet, but she didn't want to return to the party. She decided on the Room of Requirement. Once up there, she walked past it three times.

_I need a place where I can relax._

On the third walk past, she opened her eyes and walked through the door that had appeared there. She found herself back in the room with the piano. She walked towards the instrument, sat down and started playing the tune that Malfoy had taught her the last time she had found herself in that room.

"You hit a wrong note" said a voice behind her. She jumped and raised her wand. Draco Malfoy was standing behind her, he looked very thin, and haunted, there were dark circles under his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped. Draco looked taken aback.

"Sorry, I did not know that this was only reserved for you." He replied, calmly.

"That's not what I meant, it's just." she lowered her wand. She looked at him more closely and saw just how ill he looked Quickly looking to change the subject, she asked "Why did you try to crash Slughorn's party?"

"I- I didn't." He admitted. Under Hermione's confused expression, he added, "I was trying to sneak up here for, uh, a bit of quiet, when Filch caught me. When he asked me what I was doing out at this hour, I said the first thing that popped into my head." He shrugged. "I didn't realise he would actually take me there." Hermione laughed. "What about you, why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to get away from McLaggan." Malfoy raised his eyebrows. Hermione realised her mistake. "I mean, uh, I"

"You regret taking him to the party, don't you?" He smirked.

"Fine, yes, I do."

"Well, at least Weasel-Bee won't know that." He shrugged. "I overheard you and the Weaslette cackling about it." Hermione blushed.

"Yes, well, it did what it was meant to do. It made Ron jealous and that was what I was after." Draco was holding back a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, no, nothing." His face was red now. He burst out laughing and Hermione followed, seeing the ridicule in her plan. What had she been thinking? A few minutes past like that. When they calmed down at last, they were sprawled on the floor staring at the ceiling.

"Who knew?" Whispered Hermione.

"Hmm?" Asked Draco. She turned towards him.

"Who knew we could get along?" He looked at her, tears were in her eyes from laughing so hard. He smiled and brushed one of her tears away.

"People change." He said simply. Hermione smiled, then looked at the clock.

"I should probably go."

"No. Stay." He pleaded. "I haven't laughed this much for ages. I like it." Hermione smiled and nodded. What had happened to them? They had gone from mortal enemies to, what, friends?

"So, tell me about yourself." She said, sitting up. Draco looked at her.

"Like what?"

"Your childhood, your favorite colour, your lucky number, stuff like that." Draco sat up.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I don't know, why not?"

"Well, I grew up in Malfoy Manor as an only child, always surrounded by magic and, well, Dark Magic." He looked disgusted at the words. "I was born on the 5th of June 1980. My favorite colour is green." He glanced at Hermione who was smiling. "I know, predictable much? There isn't much else to say. And yourself?"

"Well, I was born on the 19th of September 1979, I'm an only child. I am muggle-born and was extremely surprised when I got the letter. My favorite colour is lilac."

"Tell me about your world." Hermione looked surprised but complied. For hours, she explained how she grew up, all of the different gadgets she used and muggle schools. Instead of jeering, Draco listened intently.

"It seems so simple. I wish I could live there." He sighed, laying back down on the floor.

"Why? I thought you hated anything muggle?"

"This world is so complicated. My parents expect so much from me, top grades are just the tip of the iceberg. They expect me to follow in my father's footsteps-" He stopped and sat up, staring at Hermione.

"You don't want to follow Voldemort." He winced at the name.

"He disgusts me." He spat. "I know what you're thinking, 'but you think the same as him, Purebloods should rule over everyone else', well you're wrong!" He was standing now, pacing around the room. Hermione still sat, staring, quite scared. "I don't believe that anymore. I mean, look at me! I'm here talking to you, to Hermione Granger, the mudblood Gryffindor, my parents would have a fit!" He was so furious he was shaking. Hermione got up.

"Hey, hey, look at me, look at me!" She ordered, grabbing his shoulders to steady his. "You don't have to follow them, you can go down your own path. You can be so much more than that, Draco. I know you can." They were close, so close, she could feel his breath on her face. The clock on the mantlepiece chimed. They stayed there, staring into the other's eyes, grey to brown, brown to grey. Finally, Draco broke the silence.

"How would you know? What have I ever done to make you see that?" His voice was barely audible. Hermione stroked his cheek.

"I just know." She broke away from him, yawning. Draco laughed.

"Tired?" He joked. Hermione nodded.

"Well, it is one o'clock in the morning, Draco."

"Is it? Already?" Looking at the clock, he saw that it was, indeed, one o'clock in the morning. "Well, I guess we should go then, seeing as you have to travel tomorrow."

"Yes, I suppose." She sighed. To tell the truth, Hermione would much rather have stayed at school, but she knew that she had to make the most of her time with her family. "Are you going home?"

"No, I'm staying here. My mother won't like it, but there you are, I don't really care." He shrugged. Hermione saw that he did not want to pursue the subject, so she changed it.

"I can't wait until it snows again, I want to have a snowball fight, to build a snowman. I want to make snow-angels!"

"Snow what?"

"Snow angels!" She was staring at him and Draco saw that her eyes were alive with glee at the prospect of snow. Draco laughed.

"You are one strange girl." Hermione smiled.

"Why thank you." She looked at the clock again.

"Go. I'll see you when you get back." Hermione went towards him, to Draco's surprise, hugged him. He stayed rigid for a moment and then, gingerly, hugged her back.

"Have a good holiday, Draco." She whispered into his ear.

"You too, Hermione." He whispered back. She then broke away and headed out the door without a second glance.


	9. Chapter 9: Christmas at the Grangers

Right, here's another chapter. It's quite long and not much happens, so sorry about that, but it's going to be a slow moving story, so try and bear with me! Thanks. And don't forget to tell me what you think!  
>Also, I want to thank my first reviewer, cloudy rains. Thank you so much, it means a lot.<br>Now, read on!

Chapter 9: Christmas at the Grangers.

"Hermione! Come down! Dinner's ready!" Hermione was pulled from her reverie by her mother's calls. She sighed, looking down at her homework. She had wanted to finnish her Transfiguration that afternoon, but she hadn't even done half of it. She put the quill down on the parchment and left her immaculate bedroom.

"So, Hermione, how's school?" Her father asked.

"Well, stressful, what with the teachers putting so much pressure on us because of our N.E.W.T.s next year."

"I hope you haven't been working yourself too hard." Joked her father, he knew Hermione and though she could get carried away with work, Ron and Harry seemed to help her balance it with everything else.

"And you're not having anymore trouble from that boy?" Asked her mother, "You know, the blonde one who thinks he's superior to everyone else?"

"Oh, Draco?"

"Draco?" Repeated her parents, and she blushed.

"Yes, Draco Malfoy. No, he hasn't been a bother at all, in fact, we're kind of friends, I guess. I mean, we get along, but…"

"But it's complicated." Finished her mother.

"He's changed this year, I don't know what it is, it's just, it's like he doesn't want to be that horrible person anymore, like he wants to atone for what he's done." Hermione didn't know who she was trying to convince; her parents or herself.

"Have you spoken to Harry and Ron about this?" Asked her father. At the mention of Ron's name, Hermione felt that same sharp pain that she got everytime.

"No. I haven't spoken to Ron for about a month now." She said, her downward tone implying she didn't want to pursue the subject, but her mother did not miss it.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did he find out you like him and now it's awkward?" Hermione looked at her mother in astonishment but recovered quickly.

"What do you mean? I don't like him!" She snapped back.

"Hermione, dear, I am your mother, I know when you like a boy. We count the times you mention his name compared to that of Harry's and how you keep telling us stories and your voice goes all funny when you mention Ron and you go a bit pink." Hermione put her head down.

"He's going out with Lavender Brown." Silence filled the dining room.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry," said her father. Obviously, the conversation had not gone in the direction they'd hoped for. "I'm sure he'll see reason -"

"How could I have been so stupid!" Hermione cried suddenly, all of her pent up feelings finally being released," How? I let myself believe in my stupid fantasies where he liked me too. I started thinking that he didn't like me going out with Viktor because he liked me, because he wanted to go with me, but now this!" She was pacing around the room now, the tears she had held back for so long finally breaking free. Her mother got up and hugged her.

"Shh, it's ok dear, he'll see reason, you wait. This time next year, it will be him and you, you mark my words, and if it hasn't happened yet, then I'll go and knock some sense into his ginger head of his for you." Hermione smiled and hugged her mother closer. This time next year… Could she really believe it?

"Goodnight Dad! Goodnight Mum!" Hermione called at ten that evening.

"Goodnight!" They called back.

As she climbed into bed, she heard a scraping noise from her window. Looking through it, she saw that it was Pig and hurried to let him in. The little owl quickly dropped a letter on her bed and went to perch on top of her wardrobe, out of Crookshanks' reach. She grabbed the letter and tore it open, her heart pounding in her chest. Had Ron finally written to her to tell her that he felt the same? But she was cruelly disappointed. It was from Ginny, asking her how her first few days of her holiday had gone and telling her she missed having her around to talk to, as all she had there were boys. Although Hermione was pleased to have heard from her friend and replied instantly, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. After sending out the letter, she reached into her wardrobe and pulled out the present that she'd bought him for Christmas. She had bought it months ago, before this whole fight had started and had been debating about whether or not to send it the entire 3 days she had been home. Hermione put the present back inside her wardrobe and shut the door tightly. Sighing, she walked towards her bed. Once under the covers, she let her thoughts wander over to the Burrow where Ron was probably playing wizard's chess with Harry and beating him tremendously, as he always did. But then her thoughts took a turn that surprised her. She wandered what Malfoy was up to, probably hiding away in the Room of Requirement doing whatever it was that he did in there. Remembering their last conversation and the look on his face when she had hugged him, Hermione Granger rolled over and fell fast asleep.

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed without incident, and although she heard from Ginny and Harry, both knew best than to mention Ron even though Hermione did want some news; he had been her best friend for 6 years up until now. Christmas day had been a peaceful one, much different than last years at Grimmauld Place. She had sent Ginny and Harry's presents, as well as some chocolates for the rest of the Weasley's, but she hadn't sent Ron's. She couldn't bring herself to send that parcel, not just because it had been weeks, a month, even, since they had spoken, but because she couldn't bear the fact that he was in a relationship with someone else. Yes, he deserved to be happy, Hermione did not want him to be sad, but seeing him with her, even thinking about him and her made her heart break into tiny pieces.

It was only on the last evening that her mother brought up the subject of boys again, as it had been almost a taboo thing to talk about after the first evening.

"So, Hermione, did you send Ron the present you bought him?" she asked cheerfully,

"No." mumbled Hermione. She wasn't really in the mood to talk about Ron.

"Hermione, that's ridiculous, why didn't you?" Asked her mother gently.

"Because I haven't spoken to him in weeks. Why should I send him a present when the only thing he's said to me since he started going out with _her_ is something insulting." She was trying to remain calm, but the anger at this was bubbling out. "I didn't receive a present from him so he won't receive a present from me. Case Closed." There was silence as they continued eating. Suddenly, her father broke that silence.

"And what about that bully you said had changed?"

"What about him?"

"How do you know he's changed?"

"Well, originally we were partners for our Ancient Runes project, but then one evening we hung out and he taught me a little piece on the piano. And then once, he's hurt me by saying something and he'd apologised. He had sent a note. Now when Draco Malfoy apologises, you know that something's changed. So, I asked him about it and he seemed really sincere. I thought that he was hatching some sort of scheme but I don't think he is."

"Just be careful sweety, we don't want you to get hurt." Her mother told her gently. She put her hand over he mother's.

"I know, and I will, I promise."


	10. Chapter 10: Two Letters and a Promise

**Now this chapter is heavily influenced by one of the best Dramione FF I've read so far and it's called 'Not Like This' by harlequindreaming, so if you want to, you can go read it, it's beautiful!**

**This chapter's also really long, so you have been warned!**

Chapter 10: Two Letters and a Promise

As soon as Hermione entered Hogwarts again, she knew that the only thing she wanted to do was go to the library. It was what she always did first day back after any holidays. She went up to the Tower first to get the books she wanted so that she could work and went back down. She headed towards her favorite corner, it was the last one on the left, next to the section about Goblin History. But she was surprised to find that the table was already taken. Draco Malfoy was sitting there, his nose nearly literally in a book, his brow furrowed in full concentration. Hermione walked towards him gingerly. She wasn't sure where they stood, the last time they had spoken, they'd had a great time and then she'd hugged him, but she still wasn't sure. She stood there, unsure of what to do, watching him scribble some things down.

"You don't have to stand there looking like a clown, you can come and sit with me, I don't have Spattergroit." Hermione jumped when he spoke, breaking the silence. She blushed furiously as he continued writing. He hadn't even looked up when he'd spoken, how had he known it was her? She sat down slowly, staring at him.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Granger, no one apart from you would be in the library during the holidays." He smirked and gave her a sideways look.

"You're here." She countered.

"Yes, but I am working on our project," and he gestured towards the papers in front of him.

"Well, then, thank goodness I brought down my notes." And with that, they set to work.

"Did you make any snow angels?" Asked Malfoy a few minutes later. She grinned at the memory of their last conversation.

"No, it didn't snow enough in London to do that. But I saw all the snow here, so I might convince Harry or Ginny or someone to make some with me at some point."

"Did you enjoy yourself in London?" He asked. He was being remarkably civil towards her, and for that she was grateful, she actually liked him when he was like this.

"Yes, I did, I always enjoy myself when I'm with my parents." She looked over at him. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How was your holiday?" There was a pause.

"Fine." He said, lamely.

"What did you do?"

"Work." Hermione frowned.

"That's it? Didn't you do anything other than work?" He laughed.

"That's rich, coming from you! Hermione Granger, you must spend every second you can in this library! You may as well call it your common room." She laughed with him.

"You've got a point," she sighed, "I do spend too much time in here."

"Want to see something?" He asked suddenly, and she was intrigued.

"Show me." She was curious now. Draco fumbled about in his bag for a moment and then pulled out a few inches of parchment. She took it from him and glanced at it before bursting out laughing. There, on the parchment, were caricatures of every teacher in the school. Professor Dumbledore resembled an old owl, Professor Snape was, of course, represented like a bat, his greasy black hair hanging down his face over his eyes, and he appeared to be flying away from a bottle of shampoo, McGonagall looked like she was shouting at someone and she looked bright red from the effort. As Hermione looked down the paper, she couldn't contain her laughter.

"These are so good, Draco!" She exclaimed, still staring at the drawings.

"You think? I still think I could've done Professor Flitwick better." He pointed to the drawing.

"This is a library! Not a common room!" Yelled a voice and Hermione shreiked in fright, as Draco snatched the paper back and stuffed in back in the bag. "If you're not here to work, leave immediatly! Go, out now!" Madame Pince yelled at them and the two students packed up their things and pretty much ran from the room, trying hard to contain their laughter. Once out in the grounds, they stopped and stared at the other before laughing again.

"That was brilliant!" Choked Malfoy through laughs. Hermione was bent double, clutching a stitch in her side while still laughing. "Come on," he suddenly grabbed her wrist, "let's build some snow angels." She let herself be pulled along by the boy who looked so carefree. They dropped their bags in the snow and Hermione stood next to Draco, who had tripped and fallen head first into the snow.

"Want me to help you up?" She laughed and grabbed his hand, but he just pulled her down on top of him. Laughing, she pushed him away and scrambled to her feet. Gathering up some snow, she threw it at him, hitting him in the face.

"This is war!" He spluttered. Their snowball fight lasted a good hour, Hermione and Draco seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that their clothes were drenched. Finally, they picked up their bags and headed back up towards the castle, still playfully pushing each other. Once in the Entrance Hall, however, they stopped, neither wanting to say goodbye to the other, but neither wanted to admit it.

"Well, I had good time this afternoon."

"You make it sound like we had a date." Joked Malfoy, earning him a playful glare from Hermione.

"You know what I meant. I guess I'll see you around." She smiled hesitantly, but both knew that they could never hang out in public, their houses would never allow it.

"Yeah, see you around, Granger."

"See you around, Malfoy." And with one last smile, they both turned and headed towards their dormitories.

"There you are, Draco." Greeted Blaise Zabini, "I was wondering where you were." He looked up. "Why are you all wet?"

"Am I under arrest, or something? What's with all these questions?" He snapped.

"Ooh, hiding something from us are you, Drakie?" Cooed Pansy Parkinson.

"I am intitled to me privacy."

"So it's ok for you to forget that it was my birthday today?" Piped up Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh, uhm."

"We hardly see you any more, Drakie." She took a step forward, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Yes, well, you know why."

"Yes, but you promised you'd be here this afternoon, and now you come in late, soaked right to the bone and you're not saying where you were!" She yelled, making Draco take a step back. "I can't take it any more!" And she burst into tears and ran to her dormitory. Silence rained down on the few that were still in the common room. Crabbe and Goyle were trying to finish what looked like Divination. Blaise Zabini stared at Draco before getting up and going towards him.

"What, you going to yell at me too?" Draco snapped.

"We don't see you anymore, you're either up on the seventh floor or in the library with that mud-"

"We have a project to work on and the sooner we finish the more time we'll have on our hands." Draco retorted. For some reason, he hadn't wanted to hear that word spoken about Hermione.

"Listen, I don't know about anyone else, but you're not acting like a part of this house. You spend more time with Granger than with us, you're a disgrace to this house, to Slytherin, to the pure-" WHAM! Draco's fist collided with Blaise's jaw and he fell to the ground, howling in pain.

"Don't ever say that again." He hissed menacingly, before storming towards his dormitory. Once there, he sat on his bed, massaging his fist. He wanted to talk to someone, but Pansy was now upset he'd missed her birthday and no other Slytheryn would want to talk to him after that. He got up and waled over to the owlery. Blaise had obviously gone to the Hospital Wing for his jaw, because he wasn't in the common room. Once in the owlery, he took out a piece of parchment and scribbled:

_Granger, could you meet me in the Room of Requirement at eight this evening? _

He then sent it before he could change his mind and left for the dormitories once more. He only had to wait two minutes in there before his owl came knocking on his window. He eagerly grabbed the note.

_Malfoy, I'll be there, but I can't do eight. I'll come a bit later, I promise._

_Hermione._


	11. Chapter 11: Fulfilment of a Promise

**It's been a bit too long... Sorry. I'd had it written out, all the way out to chapter 19, but for some reason I never uploaded them. Here is the next chapter. Have fun!**

Chapter 11: Fulfilment of a Promise

Hermione had just finished changing into clean, dry clothes when she heard a noise from the window. She opened it and Draco's eagle-owl swooped in and deposited a note on her pillow, to finally stop, perched on her four poster bed, obviously waiting for a response. She picked the letter up and read it.

_Granger, could you meet me in the Room of Requirement at eight this evening? _

Hermione stared at the note. Why on Earth was he asking her to go up there, they'd just spent the entire afternoon together. Perplexed, she looked at the time that he'd proposed to meet up. She'd agreed to help Neville with his transfiguration homework in the library until about eight thirty, even maybe until the library closed. She quickly scribbled a reply.

_Malfoy, I'll be there, but I can't do eight. I'll come a bit later, I promise._

_Hermione._

Before she could change her mind, she folded the piece of parchment in half and gave it back to the owl. It swooped out of the still open window and out into the cool evening air. She shut the window tightly behind the bird and put the note it had carried safely inside her trunk along with all the letters she had received from her parents. She didn't know why, but she wanted to keep it safe. She then went down to the library to meet with Neville.

Draco had arrived at the Room at eight, even though he knew that she would come later. He wandered over to the piano and started playing a tune, thinking about the day that had just transpired. Who was he becoming? He had spent an entire afternoon with Hermione Granger, forgotten about Pansy's birthday - although, to be honest, Draco was getting more than a bit tired of the girl - and he'd hit a fellow Slytheryn. He'd become someone else, someone he didn't recognise. Since the beginning of the year, he'd stopped being the carefree Slytheryn he had once been; he'd had to grow up quickly, to take on responsibilities that he was not ready for. But now, with Hermione, he became that carefree person, and more. He was happy, and not happy because he ruled the school, a Malfoy, Pureblood, but because she made him happy. He could be himself with her around, he could laugh and forget everything that was going on around him, forget his mission. His mission… He stopped playing. What would she do if she found out? _I would lose her,_ he thought, _she would hate me._

"What are you thinking?" Asked a voice and Draco closed his eyes and smiled. Ah, that voice.

"I was wondering when you were going to arrive, Miss Granger." Grinned Draco and Hermione grinned back.

"I told you I'd come a bit later." She replied.

"Indeed you did." they smiled at each other for a while, taking in the silence.

"Why did you ask me to come here?" She asked, finally. Draco looked back down at the piano.

"I don't know." He replied. "I guess I just needed your company."

"You needed my company?" She parroted back slowly.

"Merlin, Granger. I thought you were supposed to be bright." She flushed.

"Haha." She laughed without humour, though her lips curled upwards into a small smile. "What happened?"

"Well," he stretched, "once in the common I got bombarded with questions, got screamed at by Pansy for forgetting her birthday and punched Blaise in the face." Hermione's eyes bulged.

"You punched Blaise Zabini?"

"Are you just going to be a parrot all night?" He mocked. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why did you punch him?"

"Well, he accused me of being a disgrace." His face darkened slightly and Hermione saw just how tired and thin he had become.

"Was he talking about…" she didn't complete her sentence, but Draco understood.

"No, he wasn't. He doesn't know that we talk like we do. I haven't told anyone."

"Neither have I," chuckled Hermione, "good luck explaining that to Harry. 'By the way, Harry, I've been hanging out with Draco Malfoy, you know, the guy that's been nothing but mean to us? Yeah, well, apparently he's really nice and we're kind of friends now. Is that alright with you?' Like that would go down well." They laughed.

"I feel like we're going against a force we can't fight, like everything is trying to tear us apart."

"Well, we'll just have to fight it, won't we?" She smiled. "Why did you want my company, Draco?" At the sound of his fist name, he smiled a genuine smile.

"Because you're the only person who does not pretend to be someone else to hang out with me, you make me feel alive. I really like spending time with you, it feels so natural." They both avoided the other's gaze after that.

_Merlin, why did I just say that!_ Thought Draco.

_Does he mean it? And if he does, what exactly does he mean by that?_ Thought Hermione.

"So, school tomorrow!" Hermione said lamely.

"Granger, we are already at school." Draco replied with a grin, glad for a change of subject. Hermione looked at the floor, realising how stupid that statement was.

"I meant lessons."

"Yes, lessons." He sighed. "How I loath them." There was silence, as neither quite knew what to say.

"What are we?" Asked Hermione, suddenly. Draco stared at her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, are we friends? We're certainly not enemies anymore. A few months ago, you would never have asked me to come and meet you here. What happened that made us change?" Draco stared at the bushy haired witch in front of him.

"You laughed." He replied at last, and this made Hermione even more confused than ever. "You were the first person to laugh, genuinely laugh. I miss laughter."

"You must laugh with your friends. I always saw you laughing with Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson."

"Yes, but it was an empty laughter. This doesn't make sense, how can I explain it? We laughed because other people were miserable. And yes, I used to find it funny, it was kind of my purpose in life, making other people suffer. I mean, look at what I did to you, I called you a mudblood," he spat out the word, "for years and years, but now I just can't. It doesn't feel right. I can't feel genuinely happy unless I'm with you. Something about you makes me happy." He let all this soak in. He was surprised by what he had said, but it felt like the truth; he did feel happy with her. As to why, he couldn't say.

"It's nice to know that I'm affecting at least one person in a positive way. Who knew Hermione Granger would turn Draco Malfoy soppy."

"Hey, I am not soppy." He countered, but saw the smile playing on her lips. He got up from the piano stool where he had still been seated the entire time and walked towards Hermione. "So, what more important thing did you have to do this evening that made you late?"

"I was helping Neville with his transfiguration homework."

"That baboon? You're still friends with him, are you?" Draco teased.

"Yes I am. Problem?" She arched an eyebrow at him, while still smiling.

"None at all." He replied.

"Listen, I should be off, it's ten o'clock now and I don't want to be too tired on the first day back." Draco's insides suddenly turned very cold and he tried hard to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Right, yes, ok, go."

"I'm sorry, but-"

"I know, I know. Lessons are your reason for living." He smirked at her. "Goodnight Hermione." She smiled back.

"Goodnight Draco. And thank you for a great day." And with that, she reached up, pecked him on the cheek and left the Room and a very stunned Draco, whose stomach was now doing what felt like summersaults.


	12. Chapter 12: Dilemma Dilemma

**Haha! It's up! see? Already written! Have fun with this Chapter!**

Chapter 12: Dilemma, Dilemma.

The next few weeks passed without incident, much to Hermione's relief. She sometimes went to meet up with Draco in the Room of Requirement, in what they now called 'their room'. She had a stack of little scraps of parchment where Draco had written, _Please come up to our room this evening._ Every time he sent her a note, either by owl or dropped it in her bag. He even asked after they had finished working on their Ancient Runes project for the day.

"Will I see you there?" He would ask.

"I can't," she'd reply, "I have too much work. I'll meet you there tomorrow."

"Are you coming today?" He would ask another time.

"Yes, I'll see you there," she would reply.

She didn't know why she kept agreeing to meet him, he was Draco Malfoy, after all, but something had changed. She was fighting a losing battle, she would have to accept it at some point: she had feelings for Draco. It felt the same when she saw him as it did when she used to see Ron, before a bitter seed had grown there in the name of Lavender Brown. Hermione was going mad with the confusion inside of her. Was it possible to like two people at once, or was it just something you hear out of a book? She had no idea. She'd even tried asking Ginny, who hadn't been a great help.

"Ginny, is it possible to like two people at once?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." Hermione tried to sound only vaguely interested, but her heart slammed in her chest, willing Ginny to answer all of the confusion she was feeling.

"Well, yes, I think it is." She replied slowly. "I mean, I like Dean, but I also like, well, you know." Hermione nodded, she knew whom Ginny meant.

"So you can." Instead of feeling better about getting an answer, she felt worse; did she like Draco as well as Ron?

"So, who are the lucky men that have stolen your heart?" Asked Ginny, waggling her eyebrows. Hermione raised her own.

"Really, Ginny? Can't a girl just be curious?"

"No." Ginny replied curtly. "Now tell me."

"Well, you already know one," Ginny nodded and glanced over to where the person in question was busy imitating a squid with his girlfriend.

"And who's the second one?"

"Honestly Ginny, I don't know." she replied sighing.

The conversation she'd had with the redhead had helped in a way, because now she knew that it was possible to like two people at the same time. The problem was that she didn't _want_ to like two people at once, she was fine with agonising over one; she didn't need another. She had tried telling her heart to choose one, but it seemed adamant to like both. Hermione was in uncharted territory, this was not something you could learn from a book; not that she hadn't tried, but it was something that she had to learn for herself.

The worst part of this dilemma was when Valentines Day was approaching. Everyone was talking about what this person was doing for that person and so on and so forth. Hermione felt even worse than ever as, every night, Parvati and Lavender would talk for hours about whom they were going to spend the day with and what they were going to do. Hermione felt this every year, but it was worse this time, as Ron was going with Lavender and it killed her.

Draco Malfoy wasn't having the best time either. It looked as if Pansy was trying to guilt him into doing something special for Valentine's Day because, as she put it, "You owe me, Draco!"

There was only one person he wanted to spend it with, but even he didn't realise it. He did not know what that feeling was, whenever he saw Hermione his heart did a summersault, something that made him feel suddenly self-conscious.

It was only when Draco and Hermione were in their room together that the subject came up.

"So, what are you doing for Valentine's Day?" Hermione asked him one evening.

"Nothing. Pansy's trying to get me to take her somewhere, but to be honest I don't want to. She's been getting on my nerves recently."

"She's always reminded me of a pug with that nose." Hermione added absentmindedly. Draco chuckled.

"I suppose you've got a point there. And what are you doing on that special day, may I ask?"

"Me? Oh, nothing." Hermione waved her hand about in the air, as if to swat a fly away.

"Why don't we spend it here?" Silence fell as the words left his lips and Draco suddenly regretted saying them. "You know, because we don't have any other plans." He added quickly.

"You want to spend Valentine's Day with me?" Hermione eyed Draco curiously, but smiled and placed her hand on his. "I would love to, Draco."

As Hermione walked back to the common room one evening after spending time with Draco, she wondered why he had asked her to spend Valentine's Day with him. _He meant it as friends, neither of us have anything else to do on that day_, she told herself, but her heart was hammering in her chest and she had a hard time keeping the smile off of her face.

"Why are you smiling?" Ginny asked her once she'd entered the common room.

"I have had a very good day." She replied.

"Hermione, why do you keep coming back so late? Where do you go?" Harry asked for the millionth time.

"I go have a walk," this was her usual answer.

"I looked for you on the Map, Hermione, and I couldn't see you." This, however, was new, and Hermione stared at him.

"Are you trying to spy on me?"

"Hermione, you disappear until 11 every night and you don't tell us where you go, we're worried for you" Harry explained.

"I'm fine." She snapped furiously, "I do not need someone to look out for me, I can take care of myself." And with that, she stormed into the dormitory, pushing past a very confused Parvati who had just come down the stairs.


	13. Chapter 13: Valentine's Day

Chapter 13: Valentine's Day

The fateful day arrived. Decorations littered the Great Hall that morning, and some of the classrooms, including Professor Slughorn's, who took a great liking to the day.

"There's always time for love!" He would chuckle, looking around at the happy faces.

Hermione did not agree with that statement, but maybe that was because she was feeling a bit bitter about the whole thing. In every hidden corridor there was at least one couple kissing like there was no tomorrow. The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that she would spend the evening with Draco.

While waiting in front of History of Magic, Pansy Parkinson was not oblivious to the fact that Hermione was alone.

"Aw, what's wrong, is the little mudblood alone today?" She mocked as Hermione ignored her.

"Pansy, shut up." Droned Malfoy. "I don't see why you're making fun of her, you don't even have a date, and how do you explain that?" Pansy looked furious and Hermione was delighted to see that she had gone bright red. Malfoy winked at Hermione who hastily went back to staring at the floor.

"Did Malfoy just wink at you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I don't think so. You must be imagining things, Harry." Hermione answered, trying to keep her voice steady.

At the end of the lessons, Hermione rushed up the stairs to the common room, dumped her bags down on to her bed, made sure she looked alright and nearly ran to the Room of Requirement. Draco was already there, it looked like he hadn't even bothered to put his books in his common room as they were in a corner.

"Hey." She said shyly, standing with her back to the door.

"Hey." He replied, nodding his head towards her. "I made a little detour to the kitchens," and he gestured towards a table laden with food, "as we are skipping the feast, I thought we might get hungry." Hermione beamed.

"Thank you." He shrugged.

"I wasn't exactly going to have you starve to death, was I?"

"True. But I meant thank you for what you did earlier. You know, with Pansy." He grinned.

"I'm not really in her good books this year. First I forget her birthday and then I embarrass her in front of everyone."

"Well, I think it's wonderful. She got a taste of her own medicine." She smiled back, and silence reigned once more, only to be broken by the sound of a stomach growling.

"Hungry, Granger?" Grinned Malfoy.

"Just a bit. I didn't really eat much at lunch, I had to work." He rolled his eyes.

"You work too much." He then got up from the sofa and walked over to her, reaching for her hand. "Care to eat?" She took his hand, grinning.

"I would love to." She let herself be guided to the table. The food was delightful, as good as if they were in the Great Hall.

"So, how was your day?" Draco asked.

"Oh, it was alright. You know, as good as it can get when you're alone on Valentine's Day." Draco nodded understandingly. When they had eaten as much as they could, they moved to the sofa to talk some more.

"Hey, look, there's a radio next to the clock." Getting up, Hermione walked towards it and turned it on. A soft waltz filled the air and Hermione suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Care to dance?" Draco asked, grinning, holding out his hand. Again, Hermione took it and replied:

"I would love to." They started swaying left to right, Draco leading her effortlessly. Hermione was in a state of bliss, nothing had seemed so right to her than dancing with Draco.

Draco was thinking the same. As they twirled and danced, he couldn't help but think that he had never seen anyone as beautiful as Hermione, there, in his arms. He wished this night would never end.

As the song ended, a slower one came on and Hermione's arms found their way to Draco's neck as his wound around her waist. They swayed there, Hermione with her head on his shoulder, listening.

"This is wonderful, Draco, thank you." She whispered in his ear. She leaned back to look him in the eyes and, before either of them knew what had happened, their lips met. Fireworks exploded. But the moment couldn't last, as Hermione suddenly pulled away, her eyes wide.

"Hermione, I'm sorry, I-" He started to say, but Hermione had left, her eyes brimming with tears, abandoning a very confused and guilty Draco standing in the middle of the Room of Requirement.

All the way up to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione fought back tears. She loved Ron, Ron! Not Draco! And yet she had kissed him and she had liked it. She collapsed in a secret passageway and let the tears take over. She didn't want to be seen in this state. Why had she done it, why had she kissed him? What a cruel end to a perfect evening. She suddenly felt guilty for leaving him there without an explanation. _Now he thinks I don't feel that way._ She thought as the tears cascaded down her face. She got up, wiping the tears away furiously, and walked back to her common room.


	14. Chapter 14: A Second Chance?

Chapter 14: A Second Chance?

As the rest of February went by, Hermione and Draco pretended like nothing had happened. Though they did feel the same way for each other, Hermione could not say so, because, as she kept reminding herself, _"I love Ron!"_ As Ron's birthday loomed closer, Hermione kept debating whether or not she should give him his present. They still hadn't spoken, but it was his 17th birthday, after all, and a very important one. She put the parcel back inside her trunk and shut it tightly.

"I don't know what to do, Draco." Hermione told him on the eve of Ron's birthday. "I mean, it's his birthday." The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head in Draco's mind.

"Well, you know my view on that." He grumbled.

"I know that you and Ron don't get along, but you can at least help me come to a decision."

"Don't give it to him, he hasn't spoken to you in months, and if he has said something it's been mean."

"Ron will not stop being my best friend" Hermione explained patiently. They had had this discussion the whole week leading up to his birthday.

"Don't give it to him, make him beg for your forgiveness." He joked.

"I would love that," she smiled in response.

The next day, Hermione awoke, feeling slightly guilty at the fact that she had not sent him his present. She decided she would give it to Harry later to give to him anonymously. She got dressed quickly and went to breakfast. In the common room, she saw Lavender Brown looking sad.

"What did you do?" She yelled at Hermione.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Why did Won-Won say he was going to see Romilda?" She sobbed. Hermione shrugged.

"How should I know?" And she walked off, pondering on what Lavender had said. _Maybe he ate the love potion that Romilda had given Harry at Christmas,_ she chuckled. That would be funny. And maybe it would get them to break up. Her spirits soared, only to be crushed again. No, that wasn't likely.

It was only when she was walking back up to the Tower with Ginny after breakfast, that she heard the news.

"Ms Granger, Ms Weasley, I'm sorry to tell you that Mister Weasley is in the Hospital Wing." Hermione's face fell, she felt like a sharp knife had just cut her heart in two. They two girls ran to the Hospital Wing as fast as they could. Once there, they demanded to know from Harry what had happened.

"He'd eaten the chocolates that Romilda had given me at Christmas, they were laced with love potion. Ron thought it was a present and so ate them. I went to Professor Slughorn to get help, and he made him the antidote. As it was Ron's birthday, he opened up a bottle of Oak Matured Mead that he meant to give Dumbledore for Christmas. It turns out it had been laced with poison. Ron downed his glass first and started having a kind of seizure. I only had time to stuff a bezoar in his mouth."

"Didn't Slughorn do anything?" Chocked Hermione, outraged.

"No, I think he was in shock."

"In shock? In shock! My brother could have died!" Ginny yelled. Hermione collapsed into silence. She felt so horribly guilty; she hadn't spoken to him in months. What would she have done if he had died? Would she have been able to forgive herself?

They waited for what seemed like years, until Madame Pomfrey let them inside at last. Hermione rushed to his side and held his hand. The Weasley twins had arrived only ten minutes later, and they started debating how the mead had been poisoned. She listened to their conversation half-heartedly, concentrating hard on Ron's face.

"Slughorn had been planning to give the bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas, so maybe the attack was for him, not Slughorn or Harry." Ginny said. And for the first time since breakfast, Hermione spoke.

"Then the person who poisoned the bottle didn't know Slughorn very well," her voice cracking from the lack of use, "anyone would know that there was a good chance he'd keep it for himself."

"Her-mione…" croaked Ron suddenly. There was a silent pause in which he mumbled something and then started snoring. Hagrid entered the Hospital Wing at that point.

"How is he?" He asked.

"She said he'll be ok." Harry told him.

"I can't believe it. Who'd want to hurt him? Do you think it might have something to do with Quidditch? First Katie and now Ron." Hagrid asked.

"I don't think it's Quidditch," Hermione responded, "but I think there's a connection. Both parcels were intended for someone else and neither reached their chosen target. Of course, this makes the attacker even more dangerous, because he or she doesn't care who gets hurt before they reach the target." Before anyone could reply, however, Mr and Mrs Weasley arrived, so Hermione, Hagrid and Harry left to leave him with his family, though she didn't want to leave, wanting to atone for not speaking to him for months.

"Listen, I want to be alone, right now," Hermione whispered to Harry, who nodded comprehensively, and watched her go.

She went straight to the Room of Requirement, where she knew Draco was waiting for her. She was very late.

"There you are, I've been worried sick, you're an hour late, where-" He stopped. "What's wrong, you've been crying."

"Ron's been poisoned." She chocked and she told Draco the whole story. When she mentioned the mead, however, Draco's face twitched slightly and Hermione stopped talking.

"Continue, what happened?" He tried to act casual, even concerned, but he knew that there was something in his voice that gave him away.

"Why do you look so guilty Draco?" She narrowed her eyes and stepped away from him. "Was it you?" He dropped his gaze, "You poisoned the mead?" She gasped. "Draco Malfoy! How could you! He could have died!"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry-"

"I should go straight to Professor Dumbledore about it, you could have killed someone!"

"Yes," he snapped, "I do realise that, Hermione. But listen to me, you don't understand." A loud slap echoed around them as Hermione's hand collided with his face. He stumbled backwards, away from her, shocked.

"If I had any proof whatsoever, anything at all, I would go to Professor Dumbledore. Count yourself lucky, Malfoy." And she turned to leave.

"Hermione, wait, please."

"Give me one good reason why I should even think about not walking out this door and not coming back!" She spat.

"I love you!" He yelled, desperately. She stood there and her face contorted into a sneer.

"You don't even know what love is!" she yelled back. "Merlin, you nearly killed him!" She shook her head in disgust. "I don't think I could ever forgive you for what you've done." And with that, she left without a second glance. If she had looked back at the boy, she would have seen tears running down his cheeks, and the self-hatred and guilt present in his stormy grey eyes.


	15. Chapter 15: Torn

Chapter 15: Torn

It had been two weeks since Ron had been poisoned and Hermione was over the moon at being friends with him again. Not only that, but he and Lavender were over, something that Hermione was ecstatic about. She told herself that she couldn't be happier, but an inner voice kept reminding her that, now that she was speaking to Ron, she wasn't speaking to Draco. The hours they spent working on their project now were tense, the silence only broken by the turning of the pages.

At night, when Hermione's mind would keep wandering back to Draco Malfoy, she would remind herself that she should have known he hadn't changed, and it was only a matter of time before she found out. But that kiss… She couldn't forget it, though she had tried. He had told her he cared for her. Had he been lying?

The Ancient Runes project was now Hell to both Hermione and Draco. Hermione was heart broken and furious at what he had done, but as she had no proof he had done it, she couldn't go to Professor Dumbledore. On Draco's part, he was also heartbroken, though he knew it not, because Hermione would no longer talk to him, but only snap retorts here and there.

_Maybe it's for the best. She deserves to be happy, I should let her go._ He would think. Neither had spoken properly since Ron's birthday and both suffered because of it. It was worse, in a way, for Draco: he had lost his only true friend, the one person he could count on to make him smile.

Weeks sped by and before Hermione knew it, it was already April. She had recovered more easily to Draco's absence because she had Ron. This was salt in Draco's wounds, seeing the Golden Trio laugh, Hermione and Ron hug. The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head. _It's my fault._ He would repeat.

He had taken up going to the Room of Requirement again. Not in the room he had previously shared with Hermione, but in the Room of Hidden Things to catch up on the time he had spent with Hermione instead of in there repairing the Vanishing Cabinet. Hermione's face sometimes flashed in front of his eyes, anger and disappointment in the brown orbs. What would she think of him if she knew the whole story?

"If I don't do it, He'll kill me!" He sobbed one evening in a bathroom. He was talking to Myrtle. He spoke to her like he used to speak to Hermione, hoping beyond hope that she could fill the gap, but to no avail. So instead, he told her about the mission, not anything specific, but the overall, such as the result if he were to fail. Being a ghost, and one that no one talked to, he knew that she wouldn't tell. Looking in the mirror, he saw none other than Harry Potter. He swirled round and fired a blast from his wand.

Hermione was sitting in the common room when Harry ran in, sopping wet in water and something that looked a lot like blood.

"Ron, I need your potions book. Now!" He yelled at his best friend.

"Harry, what-" started Ron, giving him the book, but he dashed out again.

"Was Harry drenched in blood?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded.

"It definitely looked a lot like it." She whispered. What had her friend gotten into this time?

It was about half and hour later when Harry returned to the common room, white-faced and still drenched in blood and water.

"Harry?" Hermione asked gently.

"It's Malfoy." He said, and told them the whole story, about how he had seen him crying in the bathroom, and a fight broke out. He told them how Malfoy had tried to Curse him and how he had reacted instinctively with the first spell that popped into his head. Sectumsempra. "I'd seen it in my potions book and it had said 'use on enemies', I didn't know it would do what it did!" Hermione was stunned and horrified.

"Harry, what exactly did the spell do?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her fear at bay.

"It, how do I explain it?" He ran his hands through his hair. "It cut him up, deep cuts on his chest. There was so much blood." He closed his eyes in disgust. There was a pause, only broken by Hermione, who walked towards Harry and slapped him hard around the face. He staggered back, clutching his face where she had hit him. He stared, wide-eyed, at the witch in front of him, who had started to cry.


	16. Chapter 16: A Visit From a Friend

Chapter 16: A Visit From a Friend.

Everyone in the common room was staring at Hermione.

"What is wrong with you?" She snarled at Harry who backed away, positively alarmed. "You used a spell that you have no idea what the effect could be on a fellow student? How could you even do that? Just because you two have hated each other, that is no reason to turn around and try and kill him!"

"He almost Crucio'd me, Hermione!" He yelled back. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Maybe Expelliarmus or Petrificus Totalus or Stupefy! And that's just naming a few!" She yelled back. "That spell came from the Half-Blood Prince's book, didn't it? I remember you asking about it. You used a spell from _that_ book!" She was livid. Why had he hurt him in such a gruesome manner? She left them standing there, still stunned and angry, in direction of the Hospital Wing. She had to know if he was alright.

It was quite late and most of the students were already in their dormitories. She saw Draco Malfoy lying in a bed, his chest cut in several places as if by a Samurai sword. She approached hesitantly. Why did the people she cared about always end up here? Especially when she had stopped talking to them. She sat down on a chair beside his bed and grasped his hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, Draco." She whispered. He didn't respond to her, but she didn't expect him to. His chest was moving, so he was still alive.

"What are you doing here, Ms Granger?" Shreiked Madame Pomfrey. Hermione stood up at once.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to know if he was alright. I'll - I'll leave now." And she all but ran out of the Hospital Wing.

The next day, Harry still had a very red mark on the side of his face that Hermione had hit.

"I'm sorry I did that, Harry." She told him as they went down to breakfast. "It's just that, so many people have been injured this year, what with Katie and Ron, and now Draco. Malfoy." She added, quickly, but Harry hadn't caught it.

"I know, Hermione, I know." He replied lamely, tapping her on the shoulder to show that he forgave her.

The whole school knew what he had done by that morning and a lot of people were no longer speaking to him as a result. The Quidditch team was outraged that he couldn't play on their last game, but he told them the new arrangements.

"I think it's the perfect punishment," Hermione had told him that evening, much to Harry's annoyance.

Hermione visited Draco again a week later. He was sitting up in his bed, eating, and when he saw Hermione, he nearly dropped the bowl.

"Hermione?" he chocked. She nodded, fighting back the tears. His whole torso was bandaged up, but she could still remember the cuts she had seen on her first visit here.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened here." Her voice was barely audible, but Draco caught each word. "This doesn't mean that I forgive you," she went on, "but no one deserves to be cut like that. You tried to curse him, and that's something that I will never forget. First you poison Ron, then you try and Curse Harry." He looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry." He whispered back. She grasped his hand.

"I have to go. I hope you get better." And with that, she left, leaving a very sad and ashamed Draco behind her.

As Hermione made her way back to her dormitory, she couldn't help but realise that, even though he had done the things to both of her best friends, she did not hate him, like she should. On the contrary, she realised that she loved him. _I love Draco as much as I love Ron. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would. I would go back to that time when he had drawn the picture of me and I had laughed. That's what started all of this; a simple laugh._

Draco Malfoy lay in bed that evening, turning over what had transpired between the two just that afternoon. She still cared enough to come and see him, was there hope for them? He rolled over and realised that he was just setting himself up for more hurt. She could never forgive him for hurting her two best friends. Draco felt like tiny knives were slicing his heart open. She loved Weasley, and it killed him. He opened his eyes and looked towards the ceiling. _Merlin, _he thought; _I love Hermione Granger_.


	17. Chapter 17: I Wish

Chapter 17: I Wish…

When Draco was finally released from the Hospital Wing, he made his way, not to the Slytheryn common room, but to the Room of Requirement. He wanted to complete the Vanishing Cabinet, he had to: the situation was getting desperate. Hermione's face kept appearing in his mind while he willed the Room to yield the hidden treasures. The door appear and he slipped through it, only to be greeted, not by the cathedral sized room he had wanted to see, but by the cosy room he and Hermione had so often occupied. He heard the soft plonk of someone playing the piano and he saw that Hermione was sitting there, playing the tune that he had taught her what seemed like ions ago. She suddenly looked up.

"I didn't expect to see you. I'm sorry to disturb you," he muttered. The witch stood up and ran towards him, taking him in a rib-crushing hug. He put his arms around her waist in response. Oh, how he had missed her.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" She sobbed onto his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're here," he whispered back. They let go and went to sit on the sofa.

"Hermione, I know you don't forgive me, but I want you to know something." he took a deep breath. "I know that you think that I don't know what love is, but I can recognise it, I know how it feels. Thanks to you." He took her hand. "I love you, Hermione. I really do, and I'm sorry that I did the things that I did. Please." His eyes were full of remorse. Hermione stroked his cheek.

"I feel the same, Draco," she whispered, closing her eyes. "But I can't, we can't. You almost killed my best friend-"

"You love him, don't you." It was more of a statement than a question. "Weasley."

"Yes, yes I do. That's why I can't forgive you for what you did." She got up and stroked his cheek. "Goodbye, Draco." He closed his eyes, trying not to let the tears fall.

"Goodbye, Hermione. I love you." He called after her, but she had already gone.

"If you could change one thing in your past, what would it be?" Ginny asked suddenly one evening. Harry, Ginny and Ron were seated near her in and each looked up as she said this.

"I would stop myself from eating those chocolates on my birthday," Ron chuckled.

"Yeah, but then you may not have broken up with Lavender," Ginny added.

"Oh yeah… Ok, then I would have stopped myself from going out with her in the first place." Hermione nodded.

"What about you, Ginny?" He asked.

"That's a tricky one." The girl thought for a minute. "I would have thrown the diary away and not opened it." She said finally. They all nodded.

"Harry?"

"My parents would still be alive." He then turned to Hermione. "You haven't told us what you would change."

_I would not have laughed when he drew the caricature, _she thought.

"I would have asked for a different partner in Ancient Runes." She said finally, and Ginny chuckled.

"How is it going with him, anyway? You haven't moaned about him in at least 5 months."

"It was alright for a while, we were alright, but then-" she thought carefully about how to phrase it "- he was a git again." She finished lamely.

"He was Malfoy," Ron nodded knowingly, and Hermione smiled at him.

"You have to be careful about what you'd change, though." Hermione told them. "I mean, if for instance, you changed the thing about your parents, Harry, you probably wouldn't be the person you are today, you'd be different. We may not have met you on the train, you may not have saved me from the troll. All of these things have a cause and effect."

"Hermione, this is a fictional scenario, we can't change the past." Ginny told her

"Unless we had a time-turner."

"Ron, we destroyed them last year, remember?" Harry told him.

"Oh yeah…"

"And anyway, you can't go years back. If I went back twelve years now, by the time I got back to the time I'd disappeared, I'd be twelve years older." Hermione told him.

"If only we had a time machine," Harry said dreamily. Hermione nodded.

"Do you believe wishes come true?" She asked after a while. "Like, wishes you make on shooting stars and stuff."

"Yes, I do." Ginny nodded.

That night, before she went to bed, Hermione looked up at the endless darkness sprawled out in front of her. She looked for a shooting star, but saw none. She went to bed, her mind going from Draco to Ron and back. She loved both, but she could not be with Draco, he had done too much damage.

At midnight, Hermione was still staring at the curtains surrounding her four-poster bed. She could not get to sleep. She got up pulled a robe on and slipped out. The common room was empty, so she was able to leave through the portrait hole without being seen. She walked aimlessly for a while, not meeting anyone, and thinking she should go back to the common room, when she heard it. A scream. It was Filch.

"Peeves!" He hollered somewhere to Hermione's right. "I'll get you! Come back here!" His footsteps were growing louder and, to her horror, Hermione realised that they were headed in her direction. She pelted up the stairs, through hidden passages, up more stairs, until she found herself on the seventh floor, right next to the Room of Requirement that Draco Malfoy was sneaking out of. He saw her, eyes widening, as Hermione ran towards him.

"Quick!" She panted, and went through the still open door, dragging Draco behind her.

"What is going on?" Draco asked, finally.

"Filch." Wheezed Hermione, clutching at a stitch in her side.

"Well, talk about history repeating itself." He grinned at her.

"Just like the first time we were here, we were running from Filch." Grinned Hermione. They stayed by the door for a while, listening hard, but no sound came from the other side of the door. She looked around.

"What on Earth…"

"Oh, uh. Well."

"What is this place?" Hermione asked, wandering around a bit. Draco panicked.

"I uh, just wanted to, uh, see if there was anything of value in here." Hermione looked at him, and saw through the lie.

"What is going on here?" She whispered. Draco suddenly looked furious.

"I don't think it's any of your business what I get up to." He yelled. "Get out!"

"But-"

"Get out!" He grabbed her by the arm and flung her out of the room. Hermione was shocked at what had just transpired. She stood there for a few minutes, tears falling down her face as she walked slowly back to her common room.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy had slid onto the floor, sobbing. He had needed to get her to leave. She couldn't find out.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the room. "I'm so sorry Hermione."


	18. Chapter 18: Betrayal

Chapter 18: Betrayal

Months had passed and Hermione and Draco only spoke when they had to: when they worked on their Ancient Runes project. On the last session before they had to hand it in, Draco couldn't take to silence anymore.

"Hermione."

"Hmm?"

"We could never be together, could we?" Silence followed this question as Hermione slowly looked into his eyes and saw the hurt behind.

"No, Draco. For one, our houses would never have allowed it. For another, your family would never have allowed it. And I don't think our friends would let us."

"And you love Weasley," He reminded her. She smiled sadly.

"I am sorry Draco. I do love you."

"But there are too many things in the way of us," he finished for her.

"I keep thinking about it." He said after a while. He didn't have to tell her what; she knew he was talking about that kiss. That one kiss they had shared, where nothing else had mattered but them.

"Me too." She whispered back.

"I think we're ready to hand it in, don't you?" He asked, trying to change the subject before his emotions got the better of him.

"Yes, we're done." She gathered up her things and leant towards him and stroked his cheek with her hand. "Good bye, Draco."

"Good bye Hermione" he whispered back. She smiled and walked away. He stared after her until she was out of sight, before letting one solitary tear fall.

"We're leaving tonight, he said I could go with him. Now you know what to do, right? You know who has to take the Felix Felicis?" Harry demanded for the umpteenth time.

"Yes Harry, we know the plan. Now go! Dumbledore's waiting!" They all but shoved Harry through the portrait hole before turning to look at each other, each thinking about what had to be done.

Hermione and Ron were patrolling the seventh floor corridor. Her mind couldn't help but wander to the frequent hours she and Draco had spent in the Room, all those evenings…

"Hermione, are you alright?" It was Ron who had asked the question.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Just tired, you know?" she tried to smile, but he knew that something was bothering her. Before he could ask, however, darkness suddenly engulfed them.

"Malfoy!" Ron spluttered, "He's holding that hand of his. I can't see!" The smoke was surrounding them. They chocked and spluttered their way to clean air, before realising that they were not alone. "He's brought friends" Ron muttered, and so he had. Somehow, Draco had got Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Hermione was heartbroken, she felt so betrayed. How could he have done this? The Draco she knew, the one she had spent all those hours would never have done this. He was being forced into this.

The whole castle was in chaos. Spells were flying everywhere around them, Hermione was very glad she had taken the Felix Felicis, as the killing curse seemed to whizz past her head, missing by inches. Then she saw him. Draco. He was being lead away by Snape. She tried to follow, to cry out, to demand an explanation for what had been going on, for everything, but Dolohov blocked her path.

"Going somewhere, pretty?" he spat. Draco had disappeared from sight; she did not know where he had gone. Dolohov shot a curse her way that missed by a hair. She had no choice but to fight him, and so she did. By the time she had got away, most of the Death Eaters had left, the rest running away or being caught. Draco was long gone.


	19. Chapter 19: The Aftermath

Chapter 19: The Aftermath

It was silent in the Hospital Wing. Fawkes' song had faded away, and they were all sitting in silence around Bill's bed. She had heard what had happened on top of the Astronomy tower, how it had been Draco who had poisoned Katy, and the mead that Ron had drunk, but she had known that already. What she kept thinking about was why he had done it. Draco had been a Death Eater. All this time, all the times they had shared in their Room, the laughs, the jokes, that kiss… A tear fell onto her lap. Ron put his arm around her. He could not know the reason she was sad, the reason she was crying.

"I need some air." She told them.

"I'll come" Ron told her, giving her a weak smile that she returned. They walked out of the Hospital Wing, through the rubble that the battle had left in its wake, and out to the grounds. They walked in silence for a while, both content in the other's company.

"Are you alright?" It was Hermione who had broken the silence. She looked at Ron, who was staring out over the lake.

"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose. I just never thought Bill… I mean, you know…" Hermione nodded. They stopped at the edge of the lake, looking out at the sunset.

"He'll be ok." She told him. Ron nodded.

"What about you? Not too shaken up after what happened here?" He was eying her intently, scanning her face for the reason of her tears.

"I'm a bit shaken up, I never thought Hogwarts would come under attack like that. I mean, Death Eaters in Hogwarts!"

"Harry was right about him all along. About Malfoy, I mean. He was a Death Eater, he was up to something, the slimy git."

"He didn't want to be!" She snapped at him. Ron looked at her in surprise, before she continued. "He didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. I'm sure he didn't want to become that." Ron looked at her intently.

"How do you know that for sure, Hermione? Huh? After everything he did to us over the years, after everything-"

"I just know!" She snapped at him. Ron looked taken aback. "Listen, just trust me on this. He is not as bad as you think he is. He really isn't. He's just misguided." They stared at each other for a while before Ron sighed.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it."

"I'm going to bed." And without waiting for an answer, she left Ron standing at the edge of the lake, watching her walk away.

Hermione was lying in bed, the curtains of her four-poster drawn, letting the tears fall freely. Why had he done this? If she'd have gone to Dumbledore… She shut her eyes tight. Dumbledore. He was dead. There was nothing left to protect the castle. Voldemort would surely come for it now. A tapping was heard on the window, and she peaked through her hangings. There was no one else in the dormitory, so she got out of bed, wiped the worst of the tears away, and opened the window. A large eagle-owl flew in, dropped a letter onto her bed, and flew back out into the night. She opened the letter and began to read, her heart beating fast, and the tears falling faster. It was from Draco.

_Dear Hermione,_

_You know what happened tonight. You know that Dumbledore is dead, and that it was I who lead the Death Eaters into the castle. I suppose Potter would have told you, I know he was up there too, under his cloak. I want you to hear my side of the story. During the summer, the Dark Lord chose me to replace my father, no doubt to make my family suffer. He bestowed upon me the impossible task of killing Dumbledore. I tried my hardest to do so without actually performing the curse, I tried sending the necklace that Bell got cursed with, the mead that Weasley drunk was intended for Dumbledore, not him. I got the Death Eaters through the cabinet, but Potter would have told you that already. That is why I had to throw you out of the room that night. I couldn't let you figure it out._

_There is something else I wanted you to know. Everything that happened between us was real. I never faked any of it, and I don't regret it. You were the first person who understood me, who looked past my family name and got to know me, the person I really am. I wish that there was a chance for you and I, a chance for us to be together and happy, but I know that that future is non-existent, especially after what happened tonight. You were the first person I ever loved._

_I know you will never forgive me for all that I have done. I just hope that you and __Weasel-be__ Ron will be happy together, I know that if anyone deserves it, it's you. It kills me to say this, but I really do wish you the best. I just want you to know that I love you and I will never stop loving you, for as long as I live. I give you my heart, Hermione Granger, and know that I will never forget you. What happened tonight was proof of my cowardice, proof that I do not deserve you. I thought that I had nothing to live for, I was about to just give up, but you gave me reason to live, you gave me something to fight for. I just wish I could have been stronger._

_When it came down to fulfilling my mission, when it came to actually killing Dumbledore, I couldn't do it. I lowered my wand because I saw your face. I saw a look of utter hurt and disappointment on it, the look you had given me when you'd found out I'd been the one to supply the mead that nearly killed Weasley. I'd never wanted to see you like that again, Hermione, and that's what made me stop. And I thank you for everything._

_I am forever yours, _

_Draco._


	20. Chapter 20: The Hunt

Chapter 20: The Hunt

They had been on the road for about four months now. The bitter cold was starting to settle, and each was thinking of the nice warm, comfy bed that was waiting for them at Hogwarts.

"So." Harry said simply, sitting in one of the armchairs.

"So." Hermione sighed. They were at a dead end.

"The locket" Harry started.

"The ring" Hermione replied.

"The snake"

"The diary"

"Something from Hufflepuff"

"Something from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw" Hermione finished.

"Malfoy had the diary."

"Dumbledore destroyed the ring"

"The snake is with him"

"We have the locket"

"Yes, but we don't have the sword to destroy it."

"And we don't know where the others are."

"I still think one is in Hogwarts." Harry put in.

"We're not going to Hogwarts, at least not yet. It's so heavily guarded now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right Hermione." Silence fell as they both thought of the same thing: That locket was the reason Ron left.

"I'll take first watch" Hermione left without waiting for Harry to reply. She needed to think.

After about ten minutes of staring out at the wilderness around her, Hermione took out a book from the beaded bag, and opened it. Two folded pieces of parchment fell out of it. Before the wind had the chance to steal them away, she snatched them up and, making sure Harry was inside and could not see her, opened them up. The first one was the caricature that Draco had done of her at the beginning of their sixth year. When it had all started. She smiled sadly as she remembered his smile, his laugh. And that kiss. She sighed, and opened the second. It was the last letter he had sent to her. She folded it neatly and put it back in the book. She bit back tears. First, she had lost Draco; he had joined Voldemort against his will. Now, she had lost Ron. He had left. He thought she chose Harry over him. He just didn't understand! Why couldn't love just be easy for once!

The night after their adventure in Godric's Hollow made Hermione wish that she were back at Hogwarts. She had broken Harry's wand trying to save them, and now he was hardly talking to her. She felt so alone. This time last year, she could have just snuck off to the Room of Requirement to be with Draco… Oh, Draco. Tears started to fall.

"Hermione?" Harry asked her as he entered the tent. "What's wrong?"

"Everything" Hermione sobbed, as Harry sat down on the bed next to her and held her. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Shh, it's ok, I know. It's hard out here."

The wind blew hard outside, and the wind swirled around the tent hidden in the dark forest of Dean.

Once Ron had returned, Hermione felt a bit better. She had Ron back, and they were off to see Lovegood in the morning. Granted she was not really talking to Ron properly to make him suffer a bit, but he was there, and his presence gave Hermione a great sense of relief. He was alive and well.

But she still didn't know about Draco. Once in a while, she would borrow the Marauder's Map without Harry's knowledge and look for his name. Most days he was in the Slytheryn common room, hanging out with Crabbe and Goyle. Other times she saw him walk on the seventh floor and vanish. When this happened, she thought back to the times they had shared in that room with the piano, when he had taught her how to play a tune, when they had spent Valentine's day there, eating, laughing, dancing. And that kiss. That one, solitary kiss.

As Hermione kept watch that evening, she started humming the tune that Draco had taught her. It was a simple melody, one that was both happy and haunting. She knew she would not see his name if she were to look on the map; it was the Easter holiday now, according to Ron. She closed her eyes and started swaying ever so slightly, still humming the tune.

Little did she know that Ron was lying awake watching her. He was listening to her hum a tune that he knew from his childhood. It was a very well known Wizarding tune, so where had she heard it? He had never spoken of it. He listened to her humming as he drifted off to sleep. He was just glad to hear her voice again.

The next morning, they went to see Lovegood. The wind blew them around quite savagely when they apparated on the hillside. All three of them walked towards the house that stood like a rook.

"What a snitch!" Yelled Ron once they had safely apparated back to the tent.

"He was just trying to get Luna back, the poor guy." Hermione was shaken, but otherwise unhurt.

"Don't you realise, though!" Harry yelled, a look of pure ecstasy on his face. "I knew it! The Hallows exist and Volde-"

"Don't!" Ron and Hermione yelled.

"-mort's after them!"

_Great_, thought Hermione as she hit Harry in the face with a spell to stop him from being recognised by the snatchers he had just summoned by using his name. She thrust everything she could find in the beaded bag before shrinking it and hiding it in her sock. Ron, meanwhile, had taken away all light in the room through the use of his deluminator. The snatchers grabbed them.

"What's your name, then?" One of them asked Hermione, holding her by the hair.

"Penelope Clearwater! Half-blood!" She shrieked.

"What happened to you, ugly?" One snatcher asked Harry.

"Been stung" He answered.

"Name!" Snarled the snatcher, and Hermione now realised who it was. Greyback; he was the werewolf who had bitten Lupin.

"Dudley. Vernon Dudley" Harry muttered.

"Check the list" Greyback yelled to the snatcher holding Hermione. "What about you, redhead?"

"Barny Weasley" Ron said quickly.

"Weasley? A blood traitor, interesting… Scabior, any names on the list?" Scabior was searching a little notebook.

"Nope, no Vernon Dudley on here."

"Interesting…" Greyback said again. "What house were you in Dudley?"

"Slytheryn" Harry answered. They laughed.

"Funny how they all say that. Except no one can tell us where the common room is."

"It's in the dungeons," he said quickly, "you enter it through the wall. It's full of skulls, and it's under the lake so the light's all green." Hermione was impressed as to how much he remembered from his one and only visit in his second year.

"Hang on!" Scabior said suddenly, looking at Hermione. Her blood froze. "I know your face." He looked at her more closely, then took out the prophet from his pocket and opened it. There, on the front page, was her face. "Hermione Granger, the Mudblood said to be travelling with Harry Potter." Greyback grabbed Harry's face and stared at his forehead.

"We've got Potter." He whispered.

"What should we do?" Hermione's captor asked excitedly.

"We'll take them to the Manor. Tie them up with the other two." Hermione, Ron, and Harry were pulled by the hair and tied up with the other two prisoners.

"Harry?" Whispered a voice.

"Dean!" Harry whispered back.

"Oh no, it is you! I knew you were alive!"

"Shh!" Whispered Hermione, panic-stricken. Where were they being taken?

"The Manor?" Asked Scabior.

"Yes, the Dark Lord is using the Malfoy's place as a base." Hermione's spirits soared. The Malfoy Manor! Draco. She closed her eyes. She might see Draco again. Then reality dawned on her. He would not help them. For all she knew, he might have stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. Thoughts of Draco spiralled around her mind as she got apparated away to the Manor.


	21. Chapter 21: Reunited Once More

**Sorry for the wait, I've been travelling. I'll upload two chapters today to make up for it :)**

Chapter 21: Reunited once more

Draco was in the lounge playing the piano. He was playing the tune he had taught Hermione that one evening in their sixth year. Memories of their time together flashed in his mind. He stopped and looked at the sofa where the Daily Prophet lay. Looking up at him was Hermione's photo. He fought back the tears that threatened to spill.

"Draco?" He heard Narcissa call out from the Hall. "Draco, are you in there?"

"Yes, mother?" He called back as he walked to the door of the lounge. Narcissa Malfoy walked into the room. She looked worried.

"Draco, I have a task for you." Draco sighed, and nodded. He looked back at the photo of Hermione. _I miss you, _he thought.

As he walked through the doors of the drawing room he saw Bellatrix leaning over someone. _Captors. Why had they brought prisoners here?_ He pondered on the thought for less than a minute. Bellatrix had moved aside and he now saw her. She was tied up with her hands behind her back, her hair was a mess and she was covered in dust, but it was definitely her. She was here. Hermione. They had caught her. His heart fell. _At least I know she's alive, _he thought. _But for how much longer?_

"Come, come here, Draco." Lucius Malfoy said excitedly. "Tell us, this is Potter, is it not?" Draco got dragged to where a boy was standing awkwardly in the drawing room. He looked at him. It was definitely Potter, he would recognise him anywhere, even with that distorted face.

"Well, boy?" rasped Greyback.

_I have to lie._ Draco thought, _I have to lie to protect her._

"No, I don't know." Draco was trying his hardest to keep his face blank. His heart was racing. He had not been this close to Hermione for nearly a year. She looked like she was crying, and he yearned to wipe the tears away, to hold her once more. But he knew he couldn't, and so he kept his eyes focused on Potter.

"What about this one? She's the mudblood he hangs out with, is it not?" Bellatrix prodded Hermione.

"Yes," said Lucius, "yes, that does look like her..." Draco was dragged around to face Hermione. She looked up at him, and their eyes met for the first time since their sixth year. Brown to grey, grey to brown. She was silently pleading with him, begging him to lie. He wanted to let her know that he was going to protect her, to save her as best he could.

"No, that isn't Granger." He drawled it out in his usual voice, to show that he was completely sure of it, while his heart was beating so hard in his chest.

"Are you sure?" Lucius whispered.

"Yes. This isn't her, though it is an uncanny resemblance. The height is all wrong; Granger's shorter than this." He could see Hermione's eyes shine with relief.

"Well, in any case, it doesn't matter who she is. This is Potter, I'm sure of it!" Draco's heart plummeted.

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from giving him away.

"The Dark Lord only wants Potter. The others are just spares."

"No!" Draco croaked, but no one was listening, Lucius was already reaching for his mark. Draco turned back to Hermione. "I'm sorry, I tried." He whispered to her. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Stop!" Shrieked Bellatrix. "If you summon him, we are all dead!" She had grabbed the sword of Gryffindor from Greyback. "Where did you get this!"

"Found it in their tent." He snarled. During the fight that broke out, Draco looked back at Hermione.

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could save you," he whispered to her. She nodded.

"Give me the girl. Put the rest in the basement with the others. Now!" The snatchers were either tied up or unconscious on the floor. Draco was pushed aside by Wormtail, who had been standing in the corner. Draco watched helplessly as Hermione was dragged away towards Bellatrix.

"Where did you get this!" Bellatrix shrieked at Hermione.

"We found it!" Hermione shrieked back, absolutely terrified.

"Come, Draco," his mother dragged him out of the room. As the doors closed to the drawing room, tears began to fall from his eyes. His mother's arms wrapped around him. "Shh," she said softly, "I know."

"You know nothing." He growled, pushing her away from him.

"I know that you lied about Granger." Draco had his back to her and was shaking.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I won't tell, but I know. A mother knows these things." A shriek of pain was heard from the drawing room. The sound pierced Draco like a knife. He moved towards the door. "No." Narcissa held him back.

"I can't just stand here!"

"You have to!" They glared at each other. Draco's eyes were still wet with tears, and Narcissa's looked at him with pain. "I know how much it hurts you, Draco." He pulled his arm out of her grasp, and stalked back into the lounge. Hermione was lying on the ground, writhing in pain, yelling at the top of her voice, as Bellatrix tortured her.

"Ah, Draco," Bellatrix cooed, releasing Hermione from her spell, leaving her to writhe on the floor, whimpering. "Go and fetch Wormtail, tell him to fetch the Goblin." He did as his Aunt instructed. He was at a loss at what to do. The girl he loved was currently upstairs being tortured, and he was helpless. Wormtail returned with Griphook, and that left Hermione on the floor. She looked so much thinner than when he had last seen her.

"Is this the real sword?" Bellatrix barked at the Goblin.

Draco saw his chance. He approached Hermione and bent down. He stroked her cheek.

"Draco." She whispered. He smiled at her.

"I'm here."

"I'm so happy to see you again." She whispered as tears slid down both of their faces.

"You're sure this is a fake?" Bellatrix yelled at Griphook.

"Yes. This is wizard made."

"Good. Greyback, you can have the mudblood."

"No!" Yelled Draco, along with Harry and Ron who had appeared behind him. Draco was thrown to the side by Bellatrix who had just grabbed Hermione.

"Now now, boys, put the wands down. You wouldn't want to hurt this little one, would you?" She cooed menacingly. Both of the boys dropped their wands. "Pick them up, Draco." He obliged. A creaking sound was heard above Bellatrix's head as the chandelier dropped down. She yelled and threw Hermione to the side to save herself. Draco managed to catch her and carried her to where Ron was standing.

"Take her!" Draco yelled to him.

"Draco…" Hermione reached a weak hand towards him, but Harry was upon him, grabbing the wands he was holding. He made no resistance; they needed them more than he did.

"Take care of her!" He yelled to Ron, who nodded, and disapparated.

"What were you doing, Draco!" Bellatrix shrieked at him. His heart was pounding in his chest. "Why didn't you stop them!"

"They tackled me to the ground before I could do anything!" He yelled back.

"The Dark Lord is going to punish us!" Lucius was sobbing in the corner. At that precise moment, a cold voice came from the corner.

"You let him escape, didn't you." The statement fell into the silence. Draco's heart froze.

"My Lord," Bellatrix started, "we had them, but then the house elf, the brat, it tried to kill us!" Voldemort raised a hand to silence her. His eyes settled on Draco.

"Draco, how did they manage to escape?" He knew what was coming. He was ready for it. He was trained in Occlumency, he couldn't let Voldemort see he had helped them escape, he could not know. Draco looked Voldemort square in the face and prepared to counter his mental attacks.


	22. Chapter 22: Shell Cottage

Chapter 22: Shell Cottage

Hermione was sitting on the rocks overlooking the beach. She looked out over the horizon. The sun was setting now, and the sky was a beautiful show of reds and oranges.

Two days had passed since their adventure at Malfoy Manor. Neither Ron nor Harry had brought up the subject, and for that, Hermione was glad. She felt stronger, but still didn't know if she was up to telling them why Draco had lied to his family. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they did.

_What if he's dead?_ Hermione wondered, and her heart ached. He could be dead because he had helped them. But then again, it's thanks to him she hadn't been crushed by the chandelier. She owed him her life.

"Hermione?" It was Ron. Once he reached her, he sat down and stared out at the sea. "Beautiful evening." He stated after a while.

"You've never been good at small talk," Hermione told him with a small smile. "What do you want?" She asked gently; she didn't really want company.

"I just wanted to know if you were alright. You've been very quiet these past few days…"

"I have just been tortured by one of the cruellest witches, what did you expect?"

"I know, it's just… I'm worried about you."

"We both are." Hermione jumped, and turned to see that Harry had come to join them. Once he'd reached them, he sat on Hermione's other side.

"I'll be fine." She said weakly. There was a pause as they all watched the scene in front of them.

"Hermione, why did Malfoy lie about who we were?" Harry asked her gently. She shrugged. "Don't lie, Hermione. I heard him apologise to you." She paused. "Does it have anything to do with where you used to disappear to last year?" The tears started to fall hard and fast from her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"After Christmas break I used to sneak off nearly every night," Hermione whispered through the tears, "I never told you because I knew you wouldn't approve."

"What?" Ron sounded astonished. "How did I not know about this?"

"You were too busy with Lavender," she told him bitterly.

"Hermione, what happened last year?" Harry asked her gently. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"As you know, Draco was my Ancient Runes partner. One evening, he drew a caricature of me, and I thought it was really funny." She smiled at the recollection of that day and pulled out the parchment in question from the beaded bag. There, the drawing he had done of her was as fresh as if it had been done the day before. Harry nodded, showing he remembered her telling him this. "That night, I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't. I wanted to go and work, but the library was obviously closed, and the common room was too noisy, so I decided I'd go to the Room of Requirement to read. I'd taken my favourite book with me, but as I got to the seventh floor, I bumped into Draco. Filch was after us, so we ran into the Room of Requirement. We stayed there all night, just talking. He taught me how to play the piano that night, just one little tune." She smiled and closed her eyes to try and stop the tears falling. "After that, we started meeting up there more regularly. I think he just needed a friend, someone to talk to. After you got poisoned, Ron," she looked at him, "after I'd been to see you I went to the room because I'd said I was going to meet him. I then found out that it was him who'd poisoned the mead-"

"You mean you knew!" Yelled Ron. "You knew it was that slimy git-"

"What proof did I have?" She yelled back. "If I'd have gone to Dumbledore, he wouldn't have believed me!"

"Tell us what happened next." Harry said gently. She paused, unsure as to whether she should tell them what he had said.

"He told me he loved me." Silence followed this statement.

"Well he was obviously lying," Ron said, "I mean, there's no way-"

"He was telling the truth. I know because…" she wiped away a few tears, "because he sent me this." And from the beaded bag she extracted the final letter he had sent to her the night he had fled the castle. Harry took it.

"Read it out," Ron told him.

"Dear Hermione," he read. Hermione closed her eyes and listened to Harry read out the letter that she had memorised. After a while, he stopped.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," he replied, and, after a sideways glance at Hermione, continued. "I know you will never forgive me for all that I have done. I just hope that you will be happy, I know that if anyone deserves it, it's you. It kills me to say this, but I really do wish you the best. I just want you to know that I love you and I will never stop loving you, for as long as I live. I give you my heart, Hermione Granger, and know that I will never forget you." Hermione smiled as she realised that Harry had taken out the part about her and Ron. "I am forever yours, Draco." He folded the letter and handed it back to Hermione, who in turn put it back into the bag. Silence reigned over the trio, who all sat there, watching the last rays of sun fade.

"Well, there you have it." Hermione told them. "That's why he lied. That's why he saved me from being crushed by the chandelier. Because he loves me."

"Do you feel the same?" Ron asked. She looked at him, pain in her eyes. If she told him the truth, she might lose him. But she couldn't lie to them, not now.

"Yes," she whispered. Ron got up suddenly. "Where-"

"I'm going for a walk." And with that, he walked off. Hermione hung her head in shame.

"What did he mean when he wrote 'all that happened between us'?" Harry asked her after a while. Tears were flowing down her face again.

"On Valentine's day, I went to the Room of Requirement to spend the evening with Draco because I couldn't stand being in the Great Hall alone. We ate there and talked and I had so much fun. The room even provided us with a radio."

"I thought you couldn't have muggle stuff in Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"It was a wizard one. It's different to a muggle one because-" She sighed. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, I turned the radio on and a waltz came on, so we started dancing. And then, after a few songs…" her voice started to crack.

"You kissed him." Harry finished her sentence for her. She nodded, tears still flowing down her face.

"I didn't mean to, it just happened," she whispered. Harry put his arm around her to show that it was all going to be ok. The dark crept up on them as they sat there on the rocks.

"Ron will be fine, just give him time." Harry whispered.

"Thank you. But right now, I just want to be alone." Harry nodded to show that he understood completely, and got up to leave. He stopped, seemed as though he was about to say something, thought better of it, and walked away towards the cottage. Hermione was then left to watch the darkness invade the scene in front of her.


	23. Chapter 23: The Battle Begins

Chapter 23: The Battle Begins

Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all sitting on the side of the huge lake, watching the dragon they had set free from Gringotts.

"Well, that went well," Ron said. Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"What next?" Hermione asked the boys.

"Hogwarts." The statement came from Harry. "No more avoiding it. It's in the castle and I know it." Hermione looked at him and nodded.

"We'll apparate into Hogsmead. Let's get changed first." Hermione got up and gave the boys their clothes. She then went behind a rock to get changed. _I might see Draco again._ Her heart raced. _But will he be fighting with me, or against me?_

"Ok, are we all ready?" Harry looked at the other two, who nodded. He then threw the cloak around all three of them and disapparated. The second they had arrived at Hogsmead an ear-splitting sound erupted from all around.

"Caterwhalling charm!" Hermione gasped, "Quick!" And she pulled the two boys carefully to an alleyway.

"Thank you Mister Dumbledore" Hermione told Aberforth who just grunted. They were on their way into the castle. Hermione shivered. Half of her was excited; she was going home! The other half was panicking; the battle was approaching. She could feel it.

About half an hour later, Hermione and Ron were in the Room of Requirement waiting for Harry to come back from the common room. Suddenly, Ron grabbed her arm.

"Hermione," he said slowly, "even if we get the next Horcrux, we don't have anything to destroy it with…"

"Well, no, I guess we don't." She told him.

"What if I told you I knew where to find something to destroy them with?" His eyes were glinting. Hermione gave him a puzzled look.

"You don't mean…"

"The Chamber of Secrets? Of course." He grinned, and pulled Hermione onto her feet.

"But, what if we are seen?" She was panicking slightly.

"Hermione, how many times have we snuck around the castle at night?"

"And how many times have we not been caught?" She retorted.

"Well, you snuck around last year for ages and didn't get caught." The bitterness in his voice was very well hidden, but Hermione still caught it.

"Fine, let's go." And with that they walked briskly to the door.

"Ginny," Harry said, entering the Room of Requirement, "you need to leave the room for a minute, and then-" but she was no longer listening. All she had heard was 'leave the room'. They watched her run off into the battle.

"She'll be fine," Hermione reassured him. He nodded, and shut the door, and walked in front of the wall 3 times.

"Come on," Harry told them, walking through the door that had just appeared. Before Hermione had taken one step, Ron had grabbed her arm.

"Wait. I just wanted you to know something. I know this may be a bit too late, but I have to say it." He took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes. "I love you, Hermione." She stared up into his eyes, blue to brown, brown to blue.

"I…" she faltered.

"I know." He kissed her forehead, and walked into the room after Harry. Hermione stood there for a bit. Why hadn't she been able to reply? Didn't she feel the same? She shook her head; this was no time to ponder on such things. She held her head up, and followed Ron.

Little did she know, Draco Malfoy had been following Potter since he'd left the Great Hall in the hopes of seeing Hermione again, just to make sure she was alright.

"Come on," he instructed Crabbe and Goyle who had decided to follow him. All three of them marched through the door that the previous trio had walked through.

Inside, Hermione was off amongst the clutter, trying not to think about the last time she had been here. In the distance, the sound of muffled voices could be heard. She stopped walking to listen.

"Harry?" She called out. "Harry, who are you talking to?" She heard the blast from a wand and started to run back towards the sounds. Turning the corner, she saw, to both her horror and delight, Draco Malfoy. He was wrestling with Crabbe.

"No! Don't! You could bury whatever he's here looking for!" Draco was yelling at Crabbe.

"So? What does it matter?" Crabbe yelled back, trying to yank his wand out of Malfoy's grasp.

"If he's looking for it, it must be important!" Draco was clutching at straws trying to get Crabbe to stop hurting one of them – or worse. Unfortunately, Crabbe was much stronger than he was, and eventually managed to escape Draco's clutches. Looking up, he saw Hermione looking round from behind a bookcase.

"Avada Kedavra!" He yelled, shooting the curse towards her. She dived out of the way of it.

"No!" Screamed Draco. "He wants them alive!"

"He only wants Potter! We'd be doing him a favour by killing the mudblood! Besides," Crabbe turned to Draco, drawing himself up to his full height, "I don't take orders from you, Draco. Your family's finished!" Hermione shot a stunning spell in his direction, and missed by a millimetre.

"Mudblood!" Crabbe roared, and started chasing after her. Draco yelled after him, throwing a stunning spell after him, missing. His spell hit the mound of clutter instead, causing the items piled there to start falling down.

Hermione was panicking. Not only was she confused about what she felt for whom, she was also running away from a deranged ex-classmate and trying to avoid falling debris. Turning the first right she could, she collided with Ron.

"Run!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him away from where Crabbe was coming from.

"Like it hot?" Crabbe yelled at them. Looking back, she saw, to her horror, that he had conjured Fiendfyre.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, grabbing her friend.

"I have to find the diadem!"

"No, the Fiendfyre will take care of it, let's go!" The fire was surrounding them now.

"Here!" Harry tossed Ron a broom before getting onto the second one. Hermione got onto the broom behind Ron, who then kicked off hard, and swerved away from the sentient fire. Only a few minutes after being airborne, Harry dipped down and sped towards a pile of wardrobes where Draco was standing holding an unconscious Goyle.

"If we die trying to save them, I'm going to kill you, Harry!" Ron yelled before following reluctantly. Hermione noticed that Ron grabbed Goyle's hand and ignored Draco, who grabbed onto Harry.

"The door's that way!" Draco yelled at Harry, who had dived towards what looked like the diadem. He grabbed it and then sped towards the door. The second they were all through the threshold, the door vanished. All five of them crashed onto the floor, gasping for air, stinking of sweat and soot. Hermione looked round and Draco and smiled.

"Hello again," she whispered.

"Hi," he grinned back sheepishly.

"Enervate," Hermione pointed her wand at Goyle, who then started to move.

"Wh… what happened?" He spluttered, looking round. "Where's Crabbe?"

"He's dead." Ron told him bluntly. There was a pause. "Where's the diadem?" He turned to Harry as Goyle got to his feet and, very slowly and uncertainly, walked away from them all.

"I got it," Harry held it up for a second before it turned to ash in his hand.

"Fiendfyre, it's one of the ways to destroy a Horcrux. I don't know how to control it, so I would never have thought of using it." She turned to look at Draco again. "I'm sorry about Crabbe."

"It's alright," he shrugged, "he was a bit of a twit. But still, he didn't deserve to die." He got up and extended a hand to Hermione, who took it and stood up. "Where to Potter?" He asked Harry.

"Oh, um. I don't really know."

"Well, we need the snake. Don't ask," she told Draco who looked confused at this. "Enter his mind, see where he's hiding. Don't ask," she told Draco again as he opened his mouth to ask. He promptly shut it.

"The Shrieking Shack, that's where he's hiding. I'm sorry," he added to Draco, "but I don't think you should come with us."

"Yeah, you should probably stay behind, don't want you ratting us out to Voldemort," Ron told him bitterly.

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped, but Draco looked at Ron and nodded.

"Fine. I'll stay behind. But not because of that, I wouldn't do that. I don't want anything to do with that, that…" he struggled to find a word strong enough, "thing." He spat out.

"Could you do me a favour?" Harry asked a very surprised Draco, who nodded. "Could you see if you can find Ginny and make sure if she's ok?"

"I don't think the Weaslette will be pleased to see me, but I'll make sure no harm comes to her."

"Do you have to go?" Hermione whispered to him. He kissed her forehead.

"It's better if I do. Besides," he whispered very quietly into her ear, "your boyfriend doesn't like me being here."

"He's not…" but he had already walked off. She turned to Ron and Harry. "Let's go."


	24. Chapter 24: Choosing Sides

**Author's Note: There is no way I could kill Fred off. Not happening. I cannot believe she could do that. They can't survive properly without the other, so I tweaked that little bit. I'm sure you guys understand.**

Chapter 24: Choosing Sides

Hermione was sat in the Great Hall with the Weasleys. The battle was momentarily paused and they were tending to the wounded and the dead. Tonks and Lupin were lying peacefully in a corner, as though they were sleeping. Colin Creevy was next to them. Hermione couldn't see who else had succumbed to death these last few hours. Luckily, the worst the Weasley's had received was a broken arm, that had already been healed by Madame Pumfrey. Hermione was restless; where was Draco? Ron was watching her glance towards the door every time someone entered. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Neville and Draco entered the hall. She leaped to her feet and ran towards him. Many were glancing in Draco's direction and whispering, pointing fingers without bothering to be discrete, but Hermione didn't care. As soon as she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him.

"I was so worried!" She gasped as he hugged her back just as hard.

"I can take care of myself." She chuckled. As they broke apart, he looked behind her, and frowned.

"Where's Potter?"

"He went to do something in the castle."

"I saw him walk towards the forest." Neville told her. She stared at him.

"What."

"He was walking towards the forest, and he…" but Neville was interrupted by a much louder voice.

"You have fought bravely!" Voldemort told them. "But the battle is lost. Potter is dead!" People were looking at each other in disbelief. "Give up now and you will be spared, but keep on fighting and we will kill you all. One. By. One. Come outside, join me, and you will be spared." People were moving out of the Great Hall towards the steps outside the Entrance Hall.

"Come on," Ron had appeared behind her, and took her hand, pulling her gently towards the outside and away from Draco. Hermione was too busy thinking about what Voldemort had said to notice much. It couldn't be true, Harry couldn't be… And yet there he was, lying on the ground in front of Voldemort.

"No!" Shrieked Ginny, pain audible in her voice as Arthur Weasley held her back. "No!" She sobbed. Hermione couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Your hero, the _Chosen One_, is dead. See for yourself, he's here, in front of me."

"We'll join you when Hell freezes over!" Neville yelled, and a chorus of voices joined him, Hermione's included.

"Silence!" Voldemort yelled, and silence fell. He looked through the crowd. "Who will join our ranks? Draco," he called in a sickly sweet voice, "come here. Dear Draco, come join your real family." Draco shivered, and started walking, but not towards Voldemort. The second he reached Hermione's side; he slipped his hand in hers and stopped, looking at Voldemort with a solid determination. "Oh!" Voldemort laughed coldly. "He's gone soft for a mudblood." Bellatrix laughed shrilly. "You're a fool, Draco. But it's not too late; just walk towards me and I may just forget about this, walk away and-"

"No." Draco told him. "This is where I will fight." People were staring at Draco, including Voldemort.

"Well, if you say so. But when this finishes, Draco, don't try asking for mercy. You had your chance."

Voldemort had been dead for a good few hours now. Hermione was sitting by the lake, watching the suns rays reflected on the surface of the water. She looked back at the ruins of the castle and sighed.

"I guess they're going to have to rebuild it, won't they?" It was Draco. He was walking towards her. She got to her feet. "You alright?"

"Yes, I think so. It's just so much to take in." They looked at each other.

"Can I kiss you?" He whispered to her. She laughed.

"After everything that's just happened, you want to kiss me?"

"Yes. I came close to death so many times in there, I can't just let you go again." She started to cry.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, wiping away the tears.

"Because I have missed you so much." They hugged, tears falling from both of their eyes.

"People are coming," Hermione could see figures approaching them from the castle. The two watched them walk down the grounds until they were standing in front of them.

"Mr Malfoy?" One of them asked him. Draco nodded. "Come with us please."

"Why?"

"Mr Malfoy, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Albus Dumbledore, for the attacks on Katy Bell and Ronald Weasley, and working for Lord Voldemort."

"This is ridiculous!" Draco yelled, turning to Hermione.

"He saved my life!" Hermione yelled at them.

"Ms Granger, we are just trying to round everyone up and they will go to trial. Until then, if you could, Mr Malfoy." He gestured for him to follow them back to the castle. Draco turned to Hermione again.

"I love you." He told her.

"I love you too." She sobbed before he was escorted back towards what remained of their school. She followed behind them, but was told that she was not allowed to come with them past the Entrance Hall, as Draco was about to be escorted to the Ministry of Magic. So she watched him walk away, up the stairs, and out of sight.

"Hermione!" Harry called to her from the Great Hall, and she went over to him.

"Harry, this is ridiculous!"

"What is?" He asked her while eating his dinner.

"They've taken Draco away! They're going to send him to Azkaban!"

"So?" Ron asked her though a mouthful of food.

"So? We have to help him! Harry, please!" Hermione was crying now, pleading with him.

"I don't know what I can do…"

"You're Harry Potter! You just killed Voldemort! That must count for something!"

"Hermione," he sighed, "as the new Minister, Kingsley isn't going to let him go. He's rounding everybody up who had anything to do with Voldemort and his crimes. He's trying to show he isn't going to let them go easily. The only thing I can do is put in a good word for him at his trial."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Hermione." He told her calmly. "There is nothing I can do until then." Hermione nodded slowly after while and sat down next to him. "I will ask Kingsley when his trial is and I will attend it to witness for him. He might want us to be there, anyway. Until then, eat." And her piled some mashed potato on the plate in front of her. She begrudgingly picked up a fork and dug in. As much as she hated it, she was absolutely starving. And anyway, as Harry had pointed out, there was nothing that she could do until his trial.


	25. Chapter 25: The Trial

Chapter 25: The Trial

Hermione had not had a wink of sleep all night. She had been lying on her bed staring at the ceiling; her mind working faster than it had in weeks. It had finally arrived. Draco Malfoy's trial had finally come, and Hermione was impatient. At half 6 in the morning, she had given up on trying to get some sleep, and had started to get ready. By half 7, 2 hours before she was due to arrive at the Ministry, she was ready and bored again. She had decided, at that point, to go for a walk. Maybe it would help to clear her head.

At 9 o'clock, she had arrived at the Ministry and was walking across the Atrium. One month had passed since the end of the war, but everywhere that she looked she could see remnants of the battles; some of the walls still had chunks out of them, and the centrepiece was not as she had last seen it. Where the statue entitled 'Magic is Might' had stood, a large slab of marble now replaced it, inscribed with the names of every single person who had died at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the Final Battle.

"Hermione," Harry called. Once he had reached her, he hugged her and looked at the statue himself.

"Sleep well?" She asked him. He shrugged.

"I haven't been able to sleep without having nightmares since it ended." She nodded; everyone they knew who had fought always had nightmares. Hermione wondered if she would ever fully recover.

"You ready to go?" Hermione whispered to him, and he nodded in response. Together, they walked towards the lifts.

"Hey!" Ron called, jogging towards them. "Hey, walking in without me?" He winked at Hermione.

"I didn't know you were coming," Hermione told him, and he took her hand.

"I promised I would. For you." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand to show she appreciated it. All three of them started to walk towards the lifts.

"Remember the last time we were here?" Harry whispered to them. "We were breaking in."

"Look how that's changed," Hermione giggled.

"Yeah, hopefully I won't end up kissing someone's wife again." Ron chuckled, and all three of them laughed as they walked.

"Well, at least we can look back and laugh," Harry told them as they entered the lift. The doors clanged shut and they were whisked off towards the courtrooms.

"Age 17 and we broke into the Ministry of Magic." Ron said.

"And Hogwarts," Hermione told him.

"And Gringotts," Harry added, and they laughed. The lift clanged and the doors opened. The three of them stepped out. They shivered as they walked towards the door. Hermione half expected Dementors to appear, like they had done last time they were here; but the air was warm, and Hermione knew that the new Ministry would not employ Dementors in the building. A ministry worker was waiting for them outside the door. She was young, around 30 years old, with brown hair tied up in a bun. She looked at them as they approached.

"Are you here for Draco Malfoy's trial?" She asked them in a cold voice.

"Yes," Harry answered, "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. We're here to testify for Mr Malfoy." She nodded and checked her clipboard.

"Right, when you enter the courtroom, please sit down on the right of the stands, next to the defendants' family." They nodded. The woman opened the door for them, and watched them walk towards Narcissa Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy had been found guilty of 7 murders just the day before and was in Azkaban for life, unable to attend his own son's trial. Hermione wondered how Narcissa could manage it, especially with her trial due the next day. They had barely sat down when the Wizengamot entered and took their places. The room fell silent as Draco Malfoy entered, and Hermione's heart did a summersault. In the month that he had been held in Azkaban awaiting his trial, he had lost a lot of weight; his face looked as thin as paper, and his eyes had a far away look in them. He took his place in the centre of the room.

"We are here to undergo the trial of Mr Draco Malfoy. Mr Malfoy," the wizard looked down at him, "you are accused of the attempted murder of Albus Dumbledore, the attacks on Ms Katy Bell and Mr Ronald Weasley, and for being a Death Eater. How do you plead?"

"Guilty."

"Guilty of all charges?" The wizard asked him.

"Yes." He replied. His voice was calm; it was as though he had been rehearsing this since he had been arrested.

"Did you join the Death Eaters out of your own free will?"

"No, I was forced to join, otherwise he probably would have killed my whole family, and myself included."

"To be absolutely clear, who would have killed your family?"

"Voldemort."

"And the crimes you committed were all orders from Lord Voldemort? Under threat of death?"

"And torture, yes." Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Narcissa bow her head in shame, and let out a quiet sob.

"There are accounts here that, when Hogwarts was under attack, you chose to switch sides. Why?"

"I realised I couldn't go on anymore, I couldn't fight for something I didn't believe in. I couldn't be a coward and put my life before the lives of hundreds of innocent people."

"And what was it that you didn't believe in?"

"I don't believe that Purebloods are superior. I used to, but I realised that it's complete rubbish."

"What happened for you to have this change of heart?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Call Hermione Granger to the stand!" The wizard called out, and Hermione's heart seemed to stop. Slowly, she stood up and walked to the witness stand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes."

"What is your full name?"

"Hermione Jean Granger."

"What is your date of birth?"

"The 19th of September 1979"

"So you are 18?"

"Yes."

"How do you know Mr Malfoy?"

"We were at school together."

"At Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"But not in the same house?"

"No, I was in Gryffindor, and he was in Slytheryn."

"And what was your relationship like?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione's hands were shaking so much she was worried she might faint.

"Were you friends, enemies, or acquaintances?"

"Well, um." Hermione hesitated. "For the first five years of school, we weren't really, um, friendly to each other."

"So he would tease you? Call you names?"

"Yes."

"And what names would he call you, may I ask?"

"I don't see how this is relevant." Hermione looked up at the wizard seated next to her.

"Just answer the questions Ms Granger." The wizard told her, and she nodded reluctantly.

"He would call me all sorts of things, but the most common one was Mudblood." She heard the Wizengamot tut behind her. "But he stopped!" She told them urgently. "That was only in the first five years of our school life!"

"So what happened in the last two?"

"Well, I didn't attend my last year, but –"

"So for the last year you knew each other. What did he call you then?"

"We became friends." Hermione whispered.

"Friends with your old tormentor? That sounds hard to believe."

"It's true! We were partnered in Ancient Runes, and we got to talking, and we actually got along really well."

"Did you know he was a Death Eater?"

"No, not until they entered the caste."

"Mr Malfoy," the wizard suddenly turned to Draco, who looked directly at him.

"Yes?"

"Is this the Hermione Granger that changed your mind about Purebloods' superiority?"

"Yes."

"Was it just because you realised you could be friends with a muggle born?"

"No, I realised years ago that Purebloods are not superior, as soon as the first year of Hogwarts had finished."

"And what happened with Ms Granger that changed your mind?"

"She was top of every class. She had beaten me in every single exam we had. That had shaken my belief, and it was shaken every year just by seeing a muggle born out-do me in every exam. Hermione Granger is the brightest witch of our age, and she is a muggle born. I realised then that being a Pureblood meant nothing."

"Ms Granger, is there any reason why Mr Malfoy should not be punished for the crimes he has committed and pleaded guilty for? Apart from your friendship?"

"Yes. As you know, Harry, Ron, and I were on the run for a while. At one point, we were caught by a group of Snatchers, and they recognised Harry, so instead of taking us to the Ministry, they decided to take us straight to where Voldemort was."

"And where was this?"

"At Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix Lestrange was there and called for Draco to come into the lounge to identify us, seeing as he had known us since we were 11. Anyway, even though it was obvious who we were, he didn't say it, he didn't reveal our identity, and even saved my life."

"And how did he do that?"

"Harry and Ron were kept in the basement as Bellatrix-" she paused, and closed her eyes. The memories had come up into her mind again. With all her might, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Harry and Ron were in the basement as Bellatrix had taken me hostage to get information out of me."

"And how did she do that?" The wizard asked her. Hermione stared at him.

"I think that it is obvious how –"

"For the record, Ms Granger, please." Hermione's eyes started to brim with tears, and her hand shot up to the scar on her neck. She closed her eyes again.

"Would you like to take a minute, Ms Granger?" Another wizard asked her.

"No," she said, her voice unsteady, and tears falling down her face, "no, I'm fine. It's just," she took a deep breath," it's a painful memory."

"When you're ready." She nodded.

"I was tortured. By Bellatrix Lestrange."

"And where was Mr Malfoy at this point?"

"I don't know, I was being tortured," Hermione replied angrily. "Sorry. I'm sorry."

"No need, Ms Granger. Mr Malfoy, where were you when Ms Granger was being tortured."

"My mother had dragged me out of the room."

"We will hear from Ms Malfoy later. Now, Ms Granger, how did he save your life?"

"Harry and Ron managed to break out of the basement and were trying to save me, but she – Bellatrix Lestrange – had grabbed me by the hair and was holding a small silver knife to my neck."

"And is that where you got the scar?"

"Yes. Dobby the house-elf then made the chandelier fall onto us, and Bellatrix had let go of me to save herself, leaving me to get squashed by the chandelier. That's when Mr Malfoy grabbed me and dragged me out of harms way. He then gave me to Ron who apparated us out of there."

"And you were fully conscious for all of this?" Hermione hesitated.

"No." She answered. "This is what Ron and Harry told me afterwards."

"So until what point were you conscious?"

"I blacked out while being tortured."

"So all of that could have been falsified."

"Ron wouldn't have-"

"If you have no recollection of this moment, then it is not proof."

"Ron can tell you!"

"Mr Weasley will have his chance to speak later." Hermione was outraged. "Is that all?"

"No, while at Hogwarts, Draco found us, and Crabbe and Goyle tried to kill us, but Draco helped by deflecting their spells and grabbing hold of their arms so that they couldn't aim. Without him, we could have died."

"And you were conscious for this?"

"Yes I was conscious for this! This was at the Battle of Hogwarts, only a month ago, and I remember that very clearly!" Hermione was starting to get really angry.

"Ms Granger, I am going to have to ask you to calm down. If you cannot do so I am going to have to ask you to leave." Hermione nodded, and took another deep breath. "Now, is there anything else you would like to tell us?" Hermione shook her head. "Thank you Ms Granger, you may take your seat." She got up and walked back to Harry and Ron.


	26. Chapter 26: Goodbye

Chapter 26: Goodbye

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were waiting in the Ministry's café. All three of them had given their testimonies, and they were now waiting for the Wizengamot to give their verdict. Ron was holding Hermione's hand to try and reassure her, and she smiled at him. It wasn't easy for him; she knew how much he was hurting inside.

"Mr Potter? Ms Granger? Mr Weasley?" It was the woman from the courtroom. "The Wizengamot have reached a verdict. If you could please return to the courtroom in the next ten minutes." They nodded, and she walked back to the lifts. They got up and joined her. Once inside the courtroom, they re-joined their seats, and waited. Hermione was sure her heart couldn't take any more. At last, the Wizengamot entered the courtroom again, and Draco was taken once more to the seat in the middle of the room.

"We have reached a verdict." The wizard had stood up, and every one in the room did the same. Hermione grabbed onto Ron's hand once more, and closed her eyes. "The normal sentence for his crimes would be 10 years in Azkaban." Hermione held her breath and fought back the tears. "However, due to Mr Malfoy's honesty and his regret, as well as the evidence brought to light by the witnesses and his help in the defeat of Lord Voldemort, the Wizengamot has reached the verdict that he will be sentenced to Azkaban for five years. That is all." Hermione started to cry. Ron put his arms around her and stroked her back to soothe her, and she was grateful for it. When she had finally calmed down, the three of them walked towards the door. Outside, the ministry witch was waiting for them.

"Ms Granger?" She asked Hermione. "If you would like a final goodbye with Mr Malfoy, he is in the room at the end of this corridor, where the guards are standing. He will be there for the next half an hour. The same goes for the two of you, of course." She nodded to the boys, who nodded back. She then went back to her clipboard.

"Do you want to go, Hermione?" Ron asked her quietly, and Hermione nodded in response. She took a deep breath, and started to walk shakily towards the guards.

"I wish to speak to Mr Malfoy before he is taken to Azkaban." Hermione told them.

"His mother is currently in there, but she will be finished in a moment." The guard on the left told her in a deep voice. She nodded, and started to pace. Ron took a step towards her, but she stopped him.

"No. Please, could you leave me alone for a minute?" Ron nodded, and walked to the other end of the corridor to join Harry. After a minute or so, Narcissa opened the door. Her face was covered with tears, and Hermione stepped aside to let her pass, but Narcissa stopped to face her.

"Thank you. Thank you for standing up for him. I can't thank you enough." She sobbed, and hugged Hermione, who was not quite sure what to do. When she released her, Narcissa looked at Hermione. "He loves you. You are good for him. Thank you for being in his life." She smiled a watery smile, and then walked away, sniffing quietly. Hermione was left slightly embarrassed.

"Ms Granger?" The guard was gesturing to the door that Narcissa had walked out of. She nodded, and walked through.

Draco was sitting at a table. The room was dark and dingy, and reminded Hermione of the dungeons at Hogwarts. The door slammed shut behind her, which made Hermione jump slightly. Draco looked towards her, and his eyes lit up. Hermione smiled shyly back at him.

"You came." He smiled at her, and stood up.

"Of course." She smiled back, and walked towards him. The guard in the corner watched them carefully.

"Thank you. But I didn't deserve that."

"Of course you did!" Hermione shot back, outraged. "Why should you go to Azkaban when you helped us, you saved my life. Twice." Draco hung his head.

"I nearly killed Weasley and Bell, not to mention letting the Death Eaters into Hogwarts…"

"But that doesn't matter, you were 16, you were scared." She took his hand in hers. He smiled at her, staring into her brown eyes.

"Weasley better treat you right." Hermione giggled.

"That is none of your business."

"Well, no, but I love you, so that makes it my business." She smiled at him, and he stroked her cheek. "I have never loved anyone as much as I love you."

"Draco…"

"No, I have to say it. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I wish we had become friends in our first year, I wish you could've saved me years ago."

"Draco. There's no point in wishing to change the past; what's done is done."

"Ms Granger? You have five minutes." The guard informed her, and she nodded at him.

"Listen. I love you so much. You have given me so much pain, and so much worry, but I love you no matter what." Tears were falling down her face thick and fast.

"Hermione. Have a good life. I'm sorry for everything I have ever done. I don't know what I did to get you to love me, but I do not deserve you. Whatever I did to get here with you I would do again. I would go through a lifetime in Azkaban just to kiss you one more time." His face was covered in tears almost as much as Hermione's was.

"I love you Draco." Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him.

"I'll come and see you as soon as I'm out." She nodded.

"I would love that." And with that, she kissed him. The fireworks were there, exactly as they had been over a year ago. The feeling of belonging overwhelmed her, a feeling of intense contentment filled her up, and she realised that she would never love anyone as much as she loved Draco. They fit, like two pieces of a puzzle. Like Clockwork.

"I'm sorry," the guard told them, breaking them apart, "but the time's up. I must take Mr Malfoy to Azkaban now." Hermione nodded and tried to wipe her tears away, but it was pointless. Draco's face was covered in tears as well, and they gave each other one last hug, before each going to their respective doors. She looked back one last time, and their eyes met. Grey to brown, brown to grey. She smiled weakly before walking out.

Somewhere, far away, a clock struck twelve.

**There you go. That's it. That is my first story. I am in the process of writing a sequel, so look out for it, it'll be called 'A Spanner in the Works'. Thank you to all who have left a review, favourited, and set this story to alert. It means a lot to me. See you next time!**

**WarnedBeYou. **

**xxx**


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